I’d promised to bring something “snacky” to the Alabama-Florida football party I was attending last night, and I wanted to do something different from my norm of either cookies or cupcakes, especially since I knew two other people were bringing sweets. I looked up appetizer recipes on Smitten Kitchen, and I’m a sucker for a good cheese-related recipe, so I decided to give these cheese straws a go.

The recipe itself was quite simple: Mix together some cheese, flour, salt and red pepper flakes, then add a little cream a

nd work into a dough. I had a little trouble due to our nearly burnt-out food processor (thanks to the last batch of baked potatoes I attempted tomake in it), so I ended up working the dough by hand, which was really not difficult. I made my cheese straws a little thicker and shorter than what’s show on SK, and the recipe made a total of about 28 2- to 3-inch cheese straws.

These turned out quite delicious, especially for something that was so quick and easy. The baking time itself was only about 13 minutes, and prep took maybe 15 minutes. The red pepper flakes give the cheese straws a nice, subtle kick of heat, and the texture was a good mix of crunchy and chewy.

I will definitely make these again, and I may just do these for some Christmas presents this year instead of cookies, which I’ve done the past two years.

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