Cheese Straws

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup aged cheddar, shredded
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon choice of spice: piment d’Espelette crushed pink pepper corn, poppy seeds or blend of all-dressed bagel

This is a very quick and easy recipe and always popular.
It’s also easy to make variations to it.
Feel free to double your batch.
Cheese choice: I like to use 3 to 6 year-old cheddar.
You can change cheese or make a blend, but make sure you choose hard cheeses such as parmesan, asiago, gruyère, Emmental or gouda.
Spice choice: Again, you can be creative or use what you have. Piment d’Espelette is our go to, but poppy seeds is more classic.
If you want a more interesting look, you can twist each straw.
It’s important to let them cool before picking them up or trying to my them stand, otherwise they will break in half.
They don’t have to be perfect or all the exact same length. They will all be eaten in minutes…

Preheat oven at 425° F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and butter, breaking the butter until it is crumbled.
Add shredded cheese.
Add water and combine until you can form a ball.
With a rolling pin, on a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about half centimetre thickness.
Sprinkle salt and your choice of spice and press in with rolling pin.
Cut dough into strips of 1 to 2 centimetres wide.
Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper leaving a centimetre or two of spacing between each straw.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Let cool a few minutes before serving. The straws will be a bit soft when removing from oven. Straws will become more crispy as they cool.