This crunchy, vintage Southern snack has been a part of parties and get-togethers for decades. One taste and you'll understand why.
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Cheese straws are a crispy, salty, and (of course) cheesy finger food with a spicy Southern kick.
- They're a great snack for Super Bowl parties, movie nights, and holiday get-togethers, too.
- You need a heavy-duty cookie press with a star disk to shape the strips of cheese straw dough. Other than that, prep is super easy!
Cheese straws are one of those old-school Southern recipes you’ll find in every Texan’s family cookbook.
The cheesy, buttery dough bakes to crunchy perfection—a great party food that'll disappear before you know it!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper to reach your desired level of spice. You can make it hotter or milder!
- Feel free to swap some of the sharp cheddar cheese with other hard cheese like Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby Jack, gouda, parmesan, or Gruyere.
- Add crispy bacon bits to your cheesy dough—because everything is better with bacon!
- This recipe calls for unsalted butter, but you can use salted butter if you reduce the amount of added salt by just a pinch.
- Finish off your cheese straws with a sprinkling of seasoned salt.
- Top unbaked cheese straws with freshly ground black pepper or red pepper flakes for a little extra kick!
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Mix the butter, shredded cheese, salt, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and all-purpose flour in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Put the cheese mixture into a cookie press with a star-shaped disk.
- Shape the dough into 4-inch long strips, placing them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake cheese straws for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove the cheese straws from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
🍴 Equipment
- stand mixer
- cookie press
- baking sheets
🥫 How to store leftovers
You can store leftover cheese straws in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. However, be sure to let them fully cool beforehand—otherwise, the trapped heat might make them soggy.
For longer storage, freeze baked cheese straws for up to three months in a tightly covered container.
Let frozen cheese straws thaw in the fridge, and then set 'em out at room temperature. Re-crisp the straws in the air fryer or oven for a few minutes if you like.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Freshly grate a block of sharp cheddar cheese. The pre-shredded stuff won’t mix into the dough properly. After all, cheese is the main star here, people! Let it shine!
- Let your butter soften to room temperature first because it’s hard to blend cold butter with the other ingredients.
- The dough is too thick to blend with a handheld electric mixer. I recommend combining the ingredients in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a food processor. Pulse the dry ingredients until combined, then add in the cubed butter and shredded cheese and pulse until the flour mixture forms a dough.
- Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to slice the strips of dough into 4 to 6-inch lengths.
- Make sure your prepared baking sheet is lined with parchment paper so the cheese straws don’t stick to the pan and burn.
- Let your cheese straws rest on a cooling rack for 4-5 minutes. They’ll get firm and crispy while they cool, so this is important!
👩🍳 FAQs
There are a few different ways. One method is to push the dough through a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. This also allows you to pipe your cheese straws into fun shapes, which your kids will love!
If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can roll the dough flat onto a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Slice the sheet of dough into thin strips, and then separate the strips into 4- to 6-inch lengths of dough spread at least an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
The best cheese straws are made with freshly grated cheese from a block. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that prevent it from being fully incorporated into the dough.
Soft dough means your cheese straws are underbaked, your oven temp was too low, or you made the strips too thick. Bake them until they’re firm to the touch and golden brown on top. Cooling them on a wire rack provides good airflow that helps eliminate excess moisture.
Yep! Shape your dough into a cylinder, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and store it in the fridge for up to one week before baking.
You can also freeze unbaked dough for up to three months. Shape the dough into the individual strips before freezing, so all you have to do is pop ‘em in the oven! (Just increase bake time by a few minutes.)
Cheese straws are a Southern cocktail party staple because they pair well with a glass of wine, beer, or a cocktail. You can also serve these easy snacks with a creamy spread or dip them in vegetable soup!
📚 Related recipes
- Baked Brie Cheese with Apples and Bacon is the perfect addition to any charcuterie board and is an addicting appetizer for any party!
- Make my homemade 30-Minute Saltine Cracker Recipe from scratch with just five ingredients and you'll never go back to store-bought.
- Copycat French’s Fried Onions are super crispy with lots of flavor and a tingly Cajun kick—a tasty snack or the perfect topping for green bean casserole!
📞 The last word
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Southern Cheese Straws
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ cups butter, room temperature
- 1 pound extra sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded from a block. Use orange cheese.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Beat first 6 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until well blended.
- Add flour a little at a time, beating just until combined.
- Spoon into a cookie press with a star shaped disk.
- Shape the mixture into long ribbons on prepared baking sheets.
- Cut ribbons into 4-inch pieces.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove to wire racks to cool.
- Sprinkle with a little seasoned salt if desired.
Notes
- Use cheese grated from a block.
- Let your butter soften to room temperature first because it’s hard to blend cold butter with the other ingredients.
- The dough is too thick to blend with a handheld electric mixer. I recommend combining the ingredients in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a food processor. Pulse the dry ingredients until combined, then add in the cubed butter and shredded cheese and pulse until the flour mixture forms a dough.
- Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to slice the strips of dough into 4 to 6-inch lengths.
- Make sure your prepared baking sheet is lined with parchment paper so the cheese straws don’t stick to the pan and burn.
- Let your cheese straws rest on a cooling rack for 4-5 minutes. They’ll get firm and crispy while they cool, so this is important!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Janet Martin says
I'd never had cheese straws before, but now l'd love to make them!! I would add the suggested bacon bits and sprinkle them with seasoned salt! Yum!