An all-time favorite when it comes to appetizers and snacks: puff pastry cheese straws! Who doesn’t love the crunch and cheese combination? They’re really easy to make and everybody will love them!
Whenever I’m at a birthday party (or any other occasion, really), I’m always thrilled when cheese straws are on the table. I just think they’re incredibly delicious! I can’t resist any version of them; a bowl of cheese or salted puff pastry sticks is simply not safe around me.
It’s the crunch in combination with the cheese on top that make these puff pastry cheese straws irresistible for me. They’re perfect as a simple snack, but can also be served in combination with a bowl of steaming soup. And they only take a couple of minutes to make!
Making the puff pastry cheese straws is as simple as slicing the puff pastry (a pizza cutter is a great tool to do that, but a sharp knife also works), brushing with some egg wash and sprinkling with plenty of grated cheese.
Puff pastry and cheese are a fantastic combination; it’s hard to go wrong. But if you want to make them even better, sprinkle a little black pepper and flaky sea salt on top before baking. It gives the cheese straws a deeper, more delicious flavor.
Prefer not to use extra salt? Try Italian herbs, sesame seeds, or paprika instead. These toppings are also great additions to this puff pastry cheese straw recipe.
Once you sprinkled all the cheese straws place them on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.
In this recipe, I did not twist the dough but if you prefer puff pastry cheese twists you can easily do that too. If you twist them, make sure to add the grated cheese at the last minute or it will all fall off again.
If you love puff pastry, you’re going to want to try these delicious recipes as well. I have two savory ones and one sweet tart for you:
Once baked you can easily store the cheese straws for 3-4 days. Make sure to cover them with aluminum foil and keep them outside of the fridge.
You can also keep the unbaked cheese straws. In that case place them inside an airtight container and store in the fridge. Since the puff pastry will start to stick together, add parchment paper in between the layers. You can store them in the fridge for 1-2 days.
They will lose some of their crispness but you can easily reheat them in the oven at 450˚F/225˚C for about 5 minutes which will return the crisp.
You can freeze both the baked as well as the unbaked cheese straws. For the baked version cover properly and keep for 2 months in the freezer. Reheat in the oven once defrosted to get crispy again.
If you’ve used puff pastry from the freezer you cannot freeze the unbaked cheese straws. So only freeze the unbaked ones if you’ve made your own puff pastry or if you’ve used store-bought puff pastry from the cooler section.
You can absolutely make cheese straws without puff pastry, bread dough works wonderfully too and is super easy.
Another fun option is to swap the puff pastry in this recipe for crescent roll dough. You’ll end up with crescent cheese straws! Twist them a few times before baking so you get nice twisters. It’s extra delicious with this combination, though I also love doing this with regular puff pastry cheese straws.
To help it bake evenly and prevent it from puffing up too much. Use a fork (or a pastry docker) and make sure to press firmly.
Absolutely. The egg is just for giving the pastry a nice shine. You can brush the pastry with a little milk instead. It won’t be exactly the same, but it works well. I prefer using a silicone pastry brush for applying the egg wash or milk.
Technically, yes. I haven’t tested it, so I’m not sure how well it works. It probably depends on the exact type of dough as well. My guess is that puff pastry or crescent dough would be tastier.
I prefer a medium-aged or sharp grated cheese, but feel free to choose whichever you like. Keep in mind that using an older, sharper cheese will give your cheese straws a more intense cheese flavor. You can also sprinkle a mix of medium cheese and Parmesan, for example.
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