Cheese Straws

Over the weekend I made cheddar cheese straws and let me tell you, they are hard work!  These are by no means "gourmet", like Betsy's Cheese Straws, but I think they are a start.

Ingredients
3/4 lb. - 1 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
1 teaspoon paprika
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 350. At medium speed mix cheese, butter, paprika, salt, and Worcestershire sauce together.  Gradually mix in flour, just until blended.  (this next part is similar to making a lattice for a pie or rolling out sugar cookies). Lightly flour countertop.  Take 1/3 of the mix and roll it in a large ball.  Place on the counter and use a rolling pin to flatten the cheese mix to about 1/2 inch.  Take a pizza cutter and cut the "dough" into long strips (like you're cutting dough to make a lattice).  Cut the longest strips into thirds and the shorter ones in half.  Roll up the strips making sure to press the seems together and place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Store in an airtight container.

I didn't initially roll out the dough like pie crust.  That happened by trial and error.  I don't have a cookie press, which would have been helpful, so I tried will all of my upper body strength (which is not saying much) to squeeze the dough out of icing bags.  You know, I thought I was being smart, using an icing tip and bag to make these fancy cheese straws.  WRONG!  This did not work at all.  The dough did not want to come out of the bag, no matter how hard I tried to force it.  That's when I decided on the rolling pin technique (it's a technique, right?)

If you have any questions, just ask, because I totally improvised on this little project!