Making Aunt Joyce’s Cheese Straws

This weekend was a hoot!  I got to the Windy Knoll early.  There was a funeral on my husband’s side of the family, in Sandy Springs, which I felt that I must attend.  As Sandy Springs is at least an hour from me, the funeral was at 10:00 A.M. and then return to school, I would have had less than 2 hours to work with students…all that adds up to a personal day.  So after the funeral I continued on to Alabama.

When I arrived I finally got my windshield replaced.  Sand Mountain Auto Glass came to the farm and did the installation for about $70 less than I could find in the metro Atlanta area!  Thanks to the man at the Boaz carwash, I saved money!  Well, not really!  The hard drive on my laptop was in the last vestiges of life and that repair bill was $160.  Cheaper than a new computer and a trusted friend did the work.  All data saved and I am laptop computing again.  🙂

So, what to do with the remainder of a Friday afternoon?  I suggested we make cheese straws.  Mother frequently had a gallon bag of cheese straws for me.  I have hauled and eaten cheese straws from Austin, Texas to Washington, D.C. and south to Tampa, Florida.  They are very yummy!  Thanks to my Aunt Joyce for sharing the recipe.  She used to make them for weddings and other events she would cater.  She was an awesome cook.

Off to the super market for extra sharp cheddar cheese (1 pound).  Daddy had plenty of margarine ( 1 stick), plain flour (3 cups), salt (1 tsp) and ground red pepper (1 tsp).  I decided that we would make the recipe twice as Daddy loves to munch on them too.  So we got 2 pounds of cheese.

Mother grated her cheese by hand, or I think she did, but I was not up for that task and relegated it to old Cuisinart Food Processor.  Well, that was a chore!  I could not get it to work!  As it turns out her bowl fits backward to what mine does.  Daddy figured that out and the cheese was quickly grated.

“Daddy, get the mixer out for me please”

“What? Your mother kneaded the dough by hand.  She always complained that her shoulders hurt

afterward.”

“I am sure they did after working that stiff dough.  I may have to finish up by hand but that is what electricity and machines are for.”  So, I mixed all the ingredients by mixer and kneaded very little by hand.

Next I rolled the dough into logs and fed them into the cookie press.  I have purchased many modern presses to make cheese straws at home.  They were all plastic and would not stand up to this stiff dough.  Mother and Daddy found a used Cookie King on ebay.com several years ago.  It is shiny copper and metal and really does the job!  It was and still is Daddy’s job to use the cookie press to get the dough onto the cookie sheet for baking.  One making of dough makes a gallon bag full of straws.

Now let’s talk about the red pepper.  Mother liked them spicier than the 1 tsp caused.  I put a bit more too.  They have some kick to them but oh they are good.  I think that extra pepper causes me to stop before I over eat.

At some point during the second making I commented to Daddy that this was one of Mother’s and his activities and that just because she was gone from us we should not abandon these particularly good treats.  He agreed.  Thinking about this now, baking from her recipe box is a joy for me and helps to preserve her memory in a tangible way.

Fine eating fits my style of country living!

Aunt Joyce’s Cheese Straws

1 pound sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese grated
1 stick of margarine
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper (add a tiny bit more for a bit of zing!)

Mix all ingredients.  Using a strong cookie press, create stings of dough.  Cut into eating lengths PRIOR to baking.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Straws should NOT be brown on top.  They should feel firm and crispy.  They many be a bit brown on the bottom.  Spread on a kitchen towel to cook before storing in an airtight container.