Southern Cheese Straws are a timeless and highly addictive classic. Crispy and buttery, Southern Cheese Straws are amazing when paired with dry sherry or just by themselves. It’s impossible to eat just one!
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Ingredients – Here’s What You’ll Need to Make These Southern Cheese Straws
This classic cheese straw recipe uses ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
- Unsalted Butter: These cheese straws get their buttery crispiness from unsalted butter.
- Cheese: I like to use finely shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese for the cheese.
- Dry Ingredients: I used all-purpose flour with the addition of baking powder, fine sea salt, and cayenne pepper.
Steps: Here’s How to Make the Southern Cheese Straws
With just a few steps, you can make these amazing Southern Cheese Straws.
- First, I added room-temperature unsalted butter and room-temperature shredded cheddar cheese to a mixing bowl. I beat them on high for several minutes until the cheese was fully incorporated into the butter.
- I scraped down the sides of the bowl. Then, I added the baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper and beat the mixture until everything was fully incorporated.
- I again scraped down the sides of the bowl before adding the flour. I beat the mixture on medium for about 5 minutes until it was smooth and pipable.
- I transferred the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a 1M star tip and piped 3-inch cheese straws onto a parchment-lined baking pan.
- I baked the cheese straws in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 about minutes until they were golden brown. After removing the cheese straws from the oven, I transferred them to a wire rack so that they could cool completely.
I ended up with about 12 dozen incredibly delicious Southern Cheese Straws. They were buttery and crispy and totally addictive. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, and most of my other recipes, I use a rimmed half-sheet pan. You could, however, use whatever sheet pan you have on hand.
The most commonly used cheese for cheese straws is sharp cheddar due to its strong flavor. However, you can use any cheese that melts easily and has a good flavor profile, like Gouda or Gruyère.
You can make cheese straws ahead of time. Once baked, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week if they last that long.
Cheese straws can be served as a standalone snack, or they can accompany a variety of dishes such as soups, salads or as part of a charcuterie board. They’re also a popular appetizer for parties and gatherings.
The dough for this recipe works well in a cookie press.
Feel free to use regular table salt if you don’t have fine sea salt.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- This recipe calls for room-temperature butter and room-temperature cheese. Room temperatures can vary widely. For example, I generally keep my house at 73°F in the warmer months and at 68°F in the colder months. You want the dough to have the consistency of a thick buttercream. Therefore, you may need to warm the dough a bit before piping it. I like to do this in the microwave on power level 1 for several minutes. Watch carefully – you don’t want to cook the dough; just warm it enough to be able to pipe it easily.
- This recipe makes a lot of cheese straws. This is not a problem in my house because they don’t last long at all. However, the recipe can be easily cut in half as follows: 1 stick of unsalted butter, 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, ½ tablespoon of baking powder, â…ś teaspoon of salt, â…› teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour.
- I’ve learned through the years that weighing ingredients for a recipe is the key to consistent success. This recipe is no exception. I include butter, cheese, and flour weights in the recipe below. If you don’t own a scale, do yourself a favor and get one. They are quite inexpensive.
- The temperature and time listed in the recipe are based on a conventional oven. If you have a convection oven, you will need to adjust the temperature and time accordingly.
Other Delicious Appetizers
Appetizers are one of my favorite things to make. Here are some of my all-time favorites:
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Recipe
Classic Southern Cheese Straws
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese at room temperature (See Tip 1)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- Âľ teaspoon salt
- ÂĽ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour (See Tip 1)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- With an electric mixer, cream butter and cheese until well blended. Add baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add flour; beat on medium speed for 5 minutes until very creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. (See Tip 2)
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1M large star tip. (See Tip 3)
- Pipe 3-inch long cheese straws onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave at least ½-inch space between cheese straws. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the cheese straws to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
- Yield: 12 dozen.
Notes
- To ensure consistent results with this recipe, weigh the cheese and the flour.
- The consistency of the dough should be similar to a thick buttercream frosting. Warm the dough in the microwave on power level 1 for several minutes if it seems too thick.Â
- You can use a cookie press for this recipe in place of the piping bag.
Everybody loves these cheese straws. I only use salted butter and leave the addded salt out.
I’m so pleased that the cheese straws worked out for you!
Chula
I was recently at a Baby Shower and they had really good Cheese Straws. I was on a mission to find a good recipe, and boy did I! The flavor and texture are perfect. I added a little ground up roasted pecan that added a little extra to this already perfect recipe! Thank you!
What a good idea adding ground up roasted pecans. I’ll definitely have to try that!
I am just wondering what I did wrong. Mine came out bitter. The only thing I can think of is that I used too much baking powder. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon. Is that correct?? And if that is correct, what else could I have done wrong to make them taste bitter? (In case you can’t tell I am a beginner cook! ) I am NOT trying to be ugly!! I am trying to learn!! Thank you so much!!
Angie,
I’m so sorry that your cheese straws came out bitter. The 1 tablespoon of baking powder is correct.
The only thing I can think of that would cause the cheese straws to be bitter is that you cooked them too long. For some reason, cooking the cheese straws too long can sometimes turn them bitter.
Chula