A friend of our daughter’s came by to pick her up last night just minutes after these had come out of the oven. She opened the door and the tantalizing aroma of baked bread and cheese hit him; he briefly considered not leaving. It was fine with me that they stuck to their original plans, because that meant there were more of these flakey, crispy breadsticks for us to enjoy.
Puff pastry is one of the few foods I don’t feel I need to make from scratch. I’ve made it before but it’s a lot of work, and Pepperidge Farms frozen puff pastry is delicious. It’s a quick and easy starting point for elegant appetizers and desserts
The inspiration of this recipe came from one I saw in a Martha Stewart cookbook.
Parmesan puff pastry straws
- 1 box Pepperidge Farms puff pastry (both sheets), thawed according to package directions
- Flour for dusting
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (approximate)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place 1 sheet of chilled puff pastry on lightly floured surface and roll out slightly, until about 1/8-inch thick. Brush the dough lightly with the melted butter. Sprinkle the dough with half of the cheese and half of the poppy seeds.
On another surface, roll the other sheet of puff pastry the same way and place on top of the first sheet. Brush lightly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and poppy seeds. Using a very sharp knife, trim all edges. Cut pastry into 3/4-inch strips.
Transfer strips to parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Grab each end of a dough strip and carefully stretch and twist the strip in opposite directions. Continue with remaining strips of dough.
Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cheese straws cool for 5 minutes to firm up. Makes approximately 1 dozen.
