{"id":4373,"date":"2020-05-28T16:38:14","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T20:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=4373"},"modified":"2024-08-01T06:54:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T10:54:42","slug":"puffy-cheese-sticks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=4373","title":{"rendered":"Puffy Cheese Sticks"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we dip our toes back into the sea of socializing, we need PPEs\u2014Prepared Party Edibles\u2014snacks that are ready to serve the moment the stars align. These flaky, cheddar-laced sticks make the perfect nibble\u2014they are simple to prep and freeze, and then quickly bake into puffy little wands of cheesy goodness.<\/em><\/p>\n

Before snack scientists created vacuum-packed rods of mozzarella so parents could dole out string cheese to kids, \u201ccheese sticks\u201d referred to these savory pastry hors d\u2019oeuvres. Also known as cheese straws, they go back to the kitchens of the 1860s, with notable recipes in UK\u2019s famed Mrs Beeton\u2019s Book of Household Management<\/em> (1861) and in Godey\u2019s Magazine<\/em> (October 1865) in the US. The recipe featured here is plenty old enough\u2014I still go by the browned clipping I snipped from the Boston Globe<\/em> in November 1977 and taped to an index card.<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as I know, cheese sticks have never been a fad. But they are so hard to resist, they\u2019ve lived through such trendy waves as brie en croute,\"\"<\/a> bruschetta, and tapas. Maybe you\u2019ve seen boxes of artisan cheese sticks alongside imported delicacies at your grocery store. I say, save your money and make these puffy, cheesy bites yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have I mentioned \u201cpuffy\u201d?  Rolled-and-sliced dough can produce cheese sticks that are flat and crispy, but this recipe delivers puffy layers for a delicate flakiness. The puff in this recipe comes from adding cheese in stages, and then rolling out and folding the dough after each addition. It creates a fine layering of dough, or \u201clamination,\u201d similar to what you get with puff pastry. Only when I first made puff pastry did I catch on that the secret to the cheese stick was this little bit of rolling and folding.  Of course, the egg yolk and baking powder probably don\u2019t hurt in the rising.<\/span><\/p>\n

To help confirm that \u201cpuffy makes perfect,\u201d I tried a recipe for cheese straws from my 1931 edition of  Aunt Sammy\u2019s Radio Recipes Revised<\/em>. This cookbook came out of the wildly popular radio show where Uncle Sam\u2019s wife Aunt Sammy, a clever creation of the US Department of Agriculture, gave out recipes for simple, inexpensive, nutritious and delicious meals that families could enjoy during hard times. <\/span> In Aunt Sammy\u2019s recipe<\/a>, the dough gets \"\"<\/a>rolled out only once, so, as suspected, the strips baked up crunchy like thin cheesy bread sticks. They\u2019re tasty, but lack the delectable bite of the puffy cheese sticks. (For another take on this recipe, see “Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes Revised” Cheese Straws.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

But how much puff is enough? Puffy cheese sticks are so desirable that there is a movement\u2014led by icons such as Ina Garten, Martha Stewart and Emeril\u2014to skip making dough altogether and just use frozen, packaged puff pastry. While cheese sticks or twists made this way do puff up quite a bit (they are puff pastry, after all), I found they don\u2019t save work, don\u2019t improve the flavor, and they don\u2019t lend themselves to freezing for on-demand baking later on. This recipephany makes cheese sticks that are quite puffy enough, thank you. And you don’t have to buy expensive packaged dough.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, as the summer welcomes us outside, let\u2019s look forward to being with friends, raising our glasses to good health, and munching together on these delightfully puffy cheese sticks.
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Puffy Cheese Sticks<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Adapted from <\/em>The Boston Globe\"\"<\/a><\/span>
\nRecommended: Pizza wheel, ruler<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n