One of the things I love best about cooking is that it's predictable (to a point) and yet always evolving.
Yes, there are certain reactions that are basic and scientific. If you add this to that, you'll get a predictable result. Handle pastry dough with tender finesse and it'll be delicate, flaky, and tender; treat it roughly and it'll be hard and tough. The opposite is true for a yeast bread dough. But even with things we've made a thousand times and gotten the same result for almost every one of those times, there's always the opportunity for that unexpected "aha" moment.
I've been making cheese straws for my entire adult life—longer if I count the hundreds of my mother's puffed-rice-cereal-laced cheese wafers that I stamped out with a pill bottle cap and pressed slivers of pecans into from about seventh grade onward. And yet every year when I take out my annotated recipe for the holidays, I am reminded sharply that the ones I make now are not at all the same as the first ones that I extruded from my brand-new cookie press forty years ago.
Over the years, I've changed the ratio of butter to cheese and flour, which not only made them richer, but more delicate and crisp. It was fun finding the right balance so that they'd be rich yet still hold their shape. They also got spicier, as I got more generous with the cayenne pepper.
Then one evening last year I was watching Dame Mary Berry, Britain's legendary cooking maven. While making savory cheese scones for a Christmas party appetizer, she sprinkled in a spoonful of English mustard powder, pointing out that it really brought out the flavor of the well-aged cheddar she was using.
That, of course, I already knew: I'd long been adding dry mustard to my pimiento cheese and macaroni pie for that very reason. But somehow it had never occurred to me to add it to cheese straws. So the very next batch, as Dame Mary would put it, in went a spoonful of mustard powder. And as I knew she would be, she was right: the cheese flavor really popped.
Christmas Cheese Stars (Straws) 2024
If you've got a fine old cheddar, or want the cheese flavor not to be quite as sharp, you can omit the Parmigiano-Reggiano and use all cheddar. I sometimes substitute a really well-aged English cheddar for the Parmigiano, but I always use an orange-colored cheddar for most of the cheese because it gives them such a lovely golden color.
Years ago I lost the star disk for my cookie press, so I've long just rolled and cut the dough with small, decorative cookie cutters. At Christmas, the cutter was a 2-inch star. It seems I've not had the best luck with that shape: it also went missing right after we moved and has never turned up. So this fall, I finally gave up on ever finding it and bought a replacement. Now all's right again in my kitchen. Well, maybe not all, but never mind.
Makes about 12-15 dozen, depending on the shape
6 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (no substitutes), optional
16 ounces (1 pound) well-aged, extra-sharp cheddar (preferably orange-colored), or 22 ounces (1 pound, 6 ounces) if not using Parmigiano
½ pound (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
15 ounces (about 3 cups) all-purpose flour
About 1½-2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
1. Grate both cheeses with a rotary cheese grater, the fine holes of a box grater, or the fine shredding disk in the food processor. In a 12-to-14 cup food processor fitted with a steel blade or with a stand mixer, cream the cheese and butter until fluffy and smooth.
2. Whisk or sift together the flour, cayenne, mustard powder, and salt. Add it in batches, stopping the motor for each addition, then processing until it's incorporated. Process until the dough is smooth and gathers into a ball. Divide it into two equal balls, wrap well in plastic wrap, and chill for at least half an hour or up to 1 hour, or for up to three days if you're making the dough ahead. Don't let it get completely hard if you plan to make the straws right away.
3. If you've made the dough ahead, let it soften at room temperature for at least half an hour before proceeding, so that it's still cool but pliable. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325° F. If you're using a cookie press, fit it with the star die and press the dough onto an un-greased baking sheet into 2½-inch straws, spacing them about half an inch apart.
4. If you're not using a press, lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough out a little less than ¼-inch thick. Cut it with a sharp knife or a zigzag pastry wheel into ½-inch by 2½-inch strips, laying them on an un-greased baking sheet as you go. Alternatively, the dough can also be cut with a small, decorative cookie cutter (see notes above).
5. Bake for about 14 to 18 minutes, being careful not to let them brown on top. The bottoms should be golden but the tops and sides should not color. Until you know your oven, start checking after 12 minutes. Cool them completely on the pan before transferring them to an airtight storage container.