Cheese Straws

Today starts the kick-off to mini #1's First Communion weekend. We are all very excited and as you can imagine, I have a big reception planned following the ceremony. 17 family members are flying or driving in town (beginning today!) so I've pretty much been a crazy person this week preparing for it all. Naturally, that includes food, and what proper Southern event is complete without cheese straws???

Here's my recipe that is very simple. They turn out light and flaky without that spicy bite that a lot of other cheese straw recipe's have. Feel free to add more cayenne to spice it up if you prefer, but I that's just not how I prefer mine. *note: this recipe yields about 4 dozen

Ingredients
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
-3/4 cup margarine (I use it room temp)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. I always put down wax paper or parchment paper on my baking sheets.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt, grated cheese and margarine in a bowl and mix until well combined. Then add a little water at a time to make a stiff dough. I like to work it better w/ my hands at this point.
3. On a floured surface, roll out dough pieces into desired thickness. Then using a paring knife, cut sticks into lengths (my sizes vary from 4"-10"). Use a spatula and arrange on baking sheet.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes until browned (this is more like 7 minutes in my oven).