Sweet Cheeks, Etc.: Cheese Straws

I had a field trip with my office this past Friday. I decided to make some cheese straws since the guys seemed to like them so much at Christmas. I also wanted to make them because I just got an electric cookie press. It was actually a gift I'd given my mom that she'd forgotten she had.
Mom got an electric cookie press as a wedding gift back in the 70's. It's one of those things that not many people have heard of, but those of you who have used it, know what a time and strength saver it is.

Just like Mom's!

Probably in the late 90's, the plastic tube on Mom's busted. Ever since then, she's been on the lookout for another electric one. They were really hard to come by, but in recent years I've seen more of them on the market. Mom's always hard to buy gifts for. I decided to purchase one for her for Christmas a few years back. She was really excited and we ended up making cheese straws that year after she'd opened it up. Fast forward a few years.
A few weekends ago my sister flew in from Texas and we hosted a baby shower for her. As we were preparing the food for it, I see the cookie press sitting on the counter and I see the price tag still on it. I thought, "Dang, I can't believe I left that on there!" I forget exactly what I said to mom, but it was something along the lines of how do you like your cookie press? She said, "What do you mean? I just got it." Hilarity ensued as I opened up one of the cabinets, reached in, and pulled out the one I'd gotten her for Christmas several years ago!


The cookie press I got for Mom a few years ago	with wrapping paper STILL ON THE BOX!!!

Mom offered me her new one and I told her I'd take the one I'd given her since she'd only used it once and already had cheese dough in the brand new one. HAHA!

The last time I made cheese straws, they were really crunchy. I like mine crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Mom made some really good ones at my sister's shower the other weekend, but she was at work and couldn't give me the recipe when I called her the night I made them. Dad wasn't much help, either. I'm realizing I need to mark the recipes that I like so I'll know which ones to come back to. I ended up just kind of winging it with the ones I made this night. The recipe I used was:
2 sticks softened butter
16oz cheese, grated and softened
2 1/2c flour
1tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix together with hands. Load into cookie press. Press into desired shape. Bake at 350 until done (about 10-12 min.).
If I do this recipe again, I'll either lose a stick of butter or add 1/2c or more of the flour. I will also double the cayenne pepper. I'm not a fan of hot and spicy things from chilies, but this recipe could have used just a bit more bite to it.