Baptist Cheese Straws

I am a rabid fan of community cookbooks, and my very favorite are what I call "church lady cookbooks," those tomes of church supper staples, old and new, that are surely blessed by the savior himself.

The real Queen of Church Lady Cookbooks may well be the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Baptist Dishes Worth Blessing, if only for the photo of the quintessential Baptist church lady on the cover. The table’s set with the best company china and silver goblets, and you just know she’s fantasizing about what she’d serve Jesus if he were to come to dinner. I’m thinking “Amiable Chicken Curry,” (page 81. It just wouldn’t do to serve the Savior pissed off poultry, would it?), with Mrs. Bobby Neese’s “Mayonnaise Quick Bread,” (page 127), Glennis Williams’ “Squash Balls,”(page 116) and Ivy O’Hara’s “7-Up Pound Cake” (page 152) for dessert. And of course for starters she’d serve that most southern of nibbles, cheddar cheese straws. I’ve tried them, and they are seriously good. They won't save your soul, they won't speak in tongues, but I swear you’ll never eat Cheetos again. And, BTW, Methodists like them too, as do all the other Protestants, the Catholics, and quite a few atheists and agnostics as well.


CHURCH LADY CHEESE STRAWS
(Compliments of Mrs. Claude Howe
Baptist Dishes Worth Blessing)

1 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour

Place grated cheese and butter in large mixing bowl and allow to soften to room temperature. Cream by hand or with mixer. Sift together flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Gradually add dry ingredients to the butter and cheese. Mix thoroughly.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead five or six times. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into strips, about 1/2 inch wide and four or five inches long.

Place strips on ungreased cookie sheet and bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until straws begin to brown around edges. Cool completely. Makes about 12 dozen.