Puff Pastry Cheese Straws

 

Puff Pastry Cheese Straws

Karri Perry, Blue Ribbon Favorites

Oven: 425 degrees-preheated

Bakes 10-12 minutes

Ingredients:

1 package frozen puff pastry

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese-grated by hand -I use Crack Barrel brand-Extra Sharp

1/2 cup grated Parmesan 

1/4 tsp garlic powder 

1/4 tsp black pepper

Egg wash-1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

1/4 tsp

Flake sea salt

Allow pastry sheets to defrost slightly-so they are pliable.

Working on a parchment lined baking sheet, open one puff pastry sheet, turn it so that the puff pastry sheet is longer horizontally. Work with the dough while it’s still chilly… and cool to the touch. If puff pastry gets too warm it won’t puff up.

Use a rolling pin, flatten and seal seams with just a few rolls.

Fill the top half of the sheet with 1/2 cup of the freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper.

Fold the empty half of the puff pastry onto of the cheese and press the dough together. You’ll have a rectangle of dough with cheese in between the layers.

Using the egg wash, gently brush the dough (you’ll only use about 1-2 tsp of egg wash) 

Sprinkle the egg washed  dough with

2 Tbs of cheddar and Parmesan cheese. 

Cut the dough into 8 strips.

Twist and gently stretch each piece of dough. Be sure to leave 1-2 inches between each piece of dough, dough will puff during baking.

Sprinkle all the dough pieces with about 1/2 tsp of flake sea salt. 

Place baking sheet with the prepared dough into the freezer for 5 minutes—this is an important step-it really helps them to bake up beautifully.

In a preheated 425 degree oven, place the chilled cheese filled twists on the middle rack.

Set the timer for 10 minutes, and check to see that they are puffed and golden. Depending on oven, they make bake an additional 2-3 minutes. 

Let baked cheese straws cool on a baking sheet. They will firm up as they cool. 

Repeat the process for the second pastry sheet.

Old Fashioned “$79 Banana Pudding”

Old Fashioned “$79 Banana Pudding” 

Karri Perry-Blue Ribbon Favorites 

Why “Old Fashioned $79 Banana Pudding” ??

I couldn’t believe my eyes, just the other day I saw a very fancy offering for banana pudding, delivered straight to your door for $79… I thought, for that price, there should be an enormous amount of dessert arriving in vintage casserole dishes… that you get to keep!!  However, the $79 just includes the banana pudding-no frills or extras.

I want everyone to know… making banana pudding from scratch is a cinch! Making pudding in general, is unbelievably easy… I kind of think doing things from scratch has gone the way of being deemed “old fashioned”… but I’m here for it.

Obviously,  I am all about doing whatever it takes to create a fabulous dessert.  

I’m also totally on board with knowing how to make one of the BEST banana pudding recipes and keeping my $79 in my old fashioned pocketbook. 

For the small amount of effort… and truly, …making the pudding and whipped cream is a pretty quick task, worth every bit of the effort.

The results are tremendously good… and I’m all about the results, and I’ve just saved us all $67 + shipping and handling. 

I added up the cost of eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla and bananas…all the ingredients… turns out my entire dessert, serving 10-12 people is about: $12. (2023 prices, in the Midwest)

I do hope you’ll enjoy this truly timeless dessert… it’s homey, comforting and it’s all the rage these days… it never went out of style, not for one second…It’s a classic.

Serve it in a trifle for a pretty display, or create individual servings in small mason jars… banana pudding is a win.

This recipe is a vanilla pudding, full of banana slices and cookies.  If you want the pudding to be banana flavored also, add a teaspoon of banana extract or flavoring to the pudding at the same time you’re adding the vanilla extract— you can add both flavors with good results.

Enjoy!!

Old Fashioned $79 Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

Pudding:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 1/2 cups milk (2%)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

3 Tbs butter

Whipped Cream:

2 cups whipping cream

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 medium sized-ripe (but not over-ripe) bananas-not brown or speckled

Vanilla wafer cookies (1 box) brand name (Nilla Wafers) or store brand is fine and both mini or regular sized work great for this recipe.

Directions:

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, off the heat-add sugar, cornstarch, salt and whisk together. Pour in milk and cream, and gently stir. Add the egg yolks and stir to combine.  Move saucepan to the stovetop and turn on the heat to medium, heat for 7-9 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Add the butter and vanilla to the hot thickened pudding, stir to combine.

Let pudding cool slightly, (about 15 minutes) then transfer to a bowl, cover the pudding surface with cling wrap-to prevent film from forming. Chill pudding in refrigerator for 1-2 hours to overnight. 

Once the pudding has chilled, make the whipped cream and assemble:

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add the heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla.  Whisk on low for 1 minute, then turn to medium speed, until a thick (stiff peak) whipped cream forms.  The heaving whipping cream will almost double in size once whipped.

Use 2 generous cups of whipped cream to lighten the pudding, reserving about 1 1/2 cups for the top of the dessert.

To assemble the dessert:

Using the chilled pudding- remove the cling wrap, gently fold in 2 cups of the prepared whipped cream using a rubber spatula, it’s ok if there are steaks of whipped cream swirling throughout the pudding.

Slice bananas into 1/4 inch pieces -discard peels.

Using a 9x9 casserole dish, large bowl or trifle dish-add a base layer of cookies, followed by a layer of pudding, and then a single layer of bananas. Repeat, creating 1-2 additional layers. Top with reserved whipped cream.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve. Enjoy

Variations: 

Try adding a drizzle of either:

Salted caramel sauce or

Strawberry sundae sauce

 to each layer.

(Prepared store-bought sauces are usually found near the ice cream cones)