Gluten Free Cheese Straws
- Gluten-Free
- Paleo
- Low Carb
- Vegetarian or Vegan
- Pescatarian
Cheese straws are a pretty big deal in the South. If there is a party, there are usually cheese straws among the party snacks. Whether it’s a baby shower, an engagement party, or afternoon tea or cocktails, there are always cheese straws. And especially around the holidays. They are pretty much essential.
I knew I wanted to recreate the classic southern cheese straw and make it gluten free. Obviously I couldn’t make cheese straws paleo, because they’re all about that butter and cheese. If you’ve never had cheese straws before they are basically like a savory cookie. Without the butter and cheese, they’re not going to be cheese straws.
That being said, these are definitely not a health food. Sorry, folks. However, that is not the purpose of the cheese straw. They’re meant to be a treat. So, that they are. Not healthy, per se, just gluten free and delicious. Enjoy in moderation. If you can. Which I never can. They’re super addictive!
Now for some cheese straw-making logistics: Make sure the pecans are really finely chopped since the dough will need to be piped through a pastry tip or a cookie press. To make it easy, I just blend the pecans up in my food processor. If you have a food processor, I highly recommend going that route to save some time. When piping the dough, I like to make the cheese straws about 3 inches (~8cm) long. The cheese straws are fairly fragile once baked, so if they are too large then they will be more likely to break. And lastly, after allowing the cheese straws to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and before you move them to the cooling rack, taste one and make sure they are crispy all the way through. If they are soft at all, put them back in the oven for a couple minutes to get nice and crispy.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
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Gluten Free Cheese Straws
- Gluten-Free
- Paleo
- Low Carb
- Vegetarian or Vegan
- Pescatarian
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed 150g almond flour
- 1/2 cup 62g arrowroot powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup 100g very finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup 115g salted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz 227g grated cheddar cheese, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF/177ºC. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together almond flour, arrowroot powder, garlic powder, sea salt, cayenne, and pecans until evenly combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or using a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together room temperature butter and cheese on high until fairly smooth and creamy, scraping down the bowl as needed with a spatula. This should take about 3 minutes.
- Reduce speed to medium and slowly add in the flour mixture, one spoonful at a time, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Once all of the flour mixture is added, mix for a few minutes on high to lighten the mixture a bit.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a wide star tip or a cookie press, pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Alternately, the dough can be rolled into balls and flattened into rounds for cheese wafers.
- Bake for 15-16 minutes until the edges just start to brown.
- Allow the cheese straws to cool for 5 minutes, then carefully move them to a cooling rack using a very thin spatula or your fingers.
- Once completely cooled, store in an air-tight container for up to a week, if they last that long!
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How did yours turn out? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!
xx Kit
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I don’t have Arrow root powder….is there something I can substitute? These sound delicious!!
Hi, Donna! You can give it a try with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend or possibly tapioca flour. I haven’t tried those substitutes myself, so I’m unsure if they will work, but I’m guessing they should! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I used tapioca flour and they came out perfect. So crisp and delicious! 😋
That’s so great to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Delish! I subbed Miyoko’s farmhouse cheddar and it worked just fine. Also subbed in almond meal for the pecans (what I had on hand!), also fine. I used a cookie press. Next time I’m going to make logs to keep in the freezer, thin sliced for crispy wafers, hope it works…
Delicious! I substituted Miyoko’s dairy free farmhouse cheddar, and it worked just fine. I used a cookie press. I also subbed almond meal for the pecans, delicious! Next time, I might roll into logs for slice and bake, its handy to have ready to go savories in the fridge during the holidays. Thanks for this recipe!
Oh wow, great to hear that this recipe also works with dairy free cheddar! That’s great! Did you also use a vegan butter or just regular butter? You’re so welcome! Glad you enjoyed!!
Hi. I was wondering if the Bob’s 1:1 GF flour could be used in this in the place of the almond and arrowroot.
I love that flour blend and use it in many of my recipes. However, I haven’t tested it in this recipe so I can’t tell you if it would turn out or not. Are you looking for something nut free?
The most delicious cheese straws ever! I now keep a steady supply in the house for snacking.
Thanks for the stellar review! 🙂
This recipe is DELICIOUS! I’ve been craving a savoury snack but didn’t want to opt for flour or chips. My savoury tooth is appeased! I used half cheddar and half fresh parmesan cheese for extra sharpness and used half pumpkin seeds, half pecans as I didn’t have enough pecans. I also doubled the quantity of cayenne pepper, as I like a little more bite. Excellent crispiness and flavour. Five star recipe. Thank you!
Hi Mandy! Aww yay! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I would love if you could leave a 5 star review for me 🙂
This is one of the most delicious and addictive things I have ever eaten. It’s the only one I am making from now on and will use them as Christmas and hostess gifts as well. I prefer to roll them in little balls and flatten a bit with a glass or thumb so they are more like wafers. This recipe makes 75 little 1″ wafers. These last for weeks in the refrigerator packed in layers with waxed paper between and in an air tight container. I freeze them too. Thank you for an exceptional recipe. 5 stars.
Aww yay! So glad you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for the stellar review!! 🙂
This is a great recipe I made them for Christmas neighbors gifts and had great results!! I would like the nutritional info for people who need to carb count
Hi, Missie! I’m so glad you love the recipe! I haven’t calculated the nutritional info myself, but you can easily import the recipe into MyFitnessPal or another app/website and it will calculate it for you! Just use the import recipe function and paste the URL. 🙂
my grandson allergic to almond,,..also needs gluten free, dairy free, and egg free. Can these be made with another of the gluten free flours and dairy free cheese.? We use dairy free margarine and etc.
Hi, Judy! I haven’t tried the recipe with any other ingredients, but I think that pecan or walnut flour would be a good substitute for almond flour. You can make the flour yourself using a food processor or high-powered blender. Just make sure it’s really finely ground. As for the dairy, I’m just not sure that substituting with a dairy-free cheese and margarine would yield a good result. I’m thinking that part of the crispiness of these straws comes from the cheese itself. I’m afraid a dairy free cheese would just melt and become an oily mess. That being said, it never hurts to give it a try! If you do substitute with dairy free cheese and margarine, I would suggest playing with the measurements a bit. You may need a little more of this and a little less of that to get the right consistency for the dough. I hope this helps! If you do end up making these with some substitutions I would love to hear how it turns out for you!