Crispy Bacon Cheese Straws

These cheese straws make an awesome snack, or even an appetizer. They're like a cross between a breadstick and a cheese puff. Even better, the'yre super easy to make, and of course, they're insanely crispy, bacon-y, cheesy, and addictive.

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

1/3 cup to 1/2 cup hard cheese (ie extra-sharp cheddar, parmesan, etc)

3 to 5 slices of bacon

Olive oil or butter as needed

Seasoning to taste (I used salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper)

First, open up the pastry and brush on a bit of oil until it is evenly coated.

This acts as a sort of glue for the seasonings, which are sprinkled on top.

I really liked the blend of cayenne, pepper, and salt, but you can adjust to your liking. :)

If using pre-grated cheese, just add it on top. But if you're grating it yourself (even better!) use a microplane or very fine grater to sprinkle the cheese out as evenly as possible.

To spread it out more evenly and adhere the cheese to the pastry, cover it with plastic wrap and pat down with your fingerprints.

Slice the puff pastry into strips. The thinner you cut, the crispier the straws. I cut it into thirds using the seams that already formed and cut out a total of nine strips.

Since the slices of bacon were too wide to fit on each strip, I cut each slice in half before rolling it with the pastry.

To form the straws, lay a bacon slice on the back of each puff pastry strip, and roll it into a straw-like spiral with the cheese side facing out.

Bake for 20-30 minutes in an oven preheated to 400ºF.

After ten minutes or so, flip each strip over so they cook more evenly.

Your straws are done once they are stiff and no longer droop when you pick them up.

As you can see, they are awesomely crunchy and puffy and the cheese becomes really crispy. They taste great on their own or garnished with a bit of green onion and bacon bits.

Adapted from foodwishes.blogspot.com