My Mum grew up in small-town New Zealand. She lived in a wee place called Inglewood which is near a (slightly) bigger place called Stratford which is near a place called New Plymouth, New Zealand’s 11th biggest city. Mum is always on the go. She is always occupied with one project or another, the latest being her Ukulele band. Mum’s passion for playing the Ukulele was borne at around the same time as her passion for cooking. Not one for doing things in halves, Mum, at the tender age of about 10 took out the town baking competition. She out-baked the local grandma’s, creaming, mixing and whisking her way to number one, all by hand!
Whatever Mum turns her hand to she excels at, and these cheese straws are no exception. I have fond memories of Mum baking these for special occasions. She handled the dough only as much as was necessary resulting in light, flaky straws flecked with salty parmesan cheese.
A word of warning – these are addictive!