Cheese Twists Recipe (From Scratch)

Homemade Cheese Twists Recipe, or Cheese Straws, made from scratch with a few simple ingredients, deliciously golden and divinely cheesy tasting. The best party food for absolutely every occasion. No need to buy the ready-made ones, these cheese twists are the best! 

Not sure about other places, but in the UK the cheese twists are ever so popular, never missing from any party or celebration. They are cheesy, relatively mess free, and a big hit with people of all ages.

Now, as good as they sound, there are a few issues I personally have with them: the regular cheese twists/straws are made with margarine, and they taste like plastic. Yuck! Now, I might not have mentioned before, but for me margarine is a big no no in my kitchen.

Some more expensive variations might use butter instead of margarine, but then you also feel it in your pockets, so why not make your own cheese twists at home with natural ingredients? And I can promise you, they taste amazing!

You know me already, I love cheese! If you want to wow me, bring me a nice cheese board, not chocolates! So these cheese twists are just what I need when my savory tooth needs its fix.

Jump to:

• Ingredients needed
• Step-by-step photos and instructions
• Expert tips
• Other cheese pastry recipes
• Cheese Twists Recipe

Ingredients needed

• plain flour
• salted butter - if you don't have salted, use unsalted and add a pinch of salt
• egg
• grated cheddar cheese
• grated parmesan cheese
• milk - full-fat is the best for this recipe

Step-by-step photos and instructions

Some cheese twists recipes call for puff pastry. But we can do better than that. So how about me make our own dough, it's quick and super easy too.

• in a bowl, sift the flour and add the cubed butter
• use your fingertips to rub them together until it resembles breadcrumbs
• add the grated cheddar and parmesan, egg yolk and milk
• knead gently to get a nice dough that does not stick to the hands
• cover the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes
• use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1 cm (½ inch) thickness
• cut out strips of dough, then twist them
• arrange on the baking tray lined with non-stick paper
• bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes or until golden

Expert tips

These cheese straws taste as good as they look - or even better. I chose cheddar cheese (it's my favourite cheese, of course), and parmesan for a nice sharp kick. They didn't disappoint, these 2 cheeses really are the very best combo you can get.

But any other hard cheese can be added - including red cheddar or red leicester cheese. As long as they taste ok, that's all we need to worry about.

Make sure you chill the dough before baking the twists, as with most buttery products, chilling the dough means less spreading and less mess in the oven.

Other cheese pastry recipes

If you like these cheese twists, how about some similar recipes that can be a big hit for any party too? My Homemade Cheese Crackers (Baby and Toddler Friendly) are as delicious.

If you’ve tried my CHEESE TWISTS RECIPE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.