Small snacks are always a good idea for a movie or games night, aren’t they? A bag of potato chips, a few nuts… all great. But what if you want to prepare something to snack on yourself? Well, these simple Puff Pastry Cheese Sticks are definitely a great option. Extremely tasty and quick to bake – what more could you want?
If you and me have an even remotely similar taste, these small, cheesy puff pastry snacks might be perfect for you. Crispy, flaky sticks that are well seasoned and baked with a good amount of cheese. That can only be good, right? Better than the stuff you can buy in the supermarket… so much I can tell you. ;P
Snacks with puff pastry are really easy to make. As long as you use ready-made puff pastry from the supermarket. ;) You could prepare the puff pastry needed for those snacks at home, of course, but who has that much time!? Homemade Puff Pastry takes a few hours and maybe a bit of skill to prepare, I’d say. The dough itself is quite simple, but soooo time-consuming to do…
When preparing puff pastry, you have to make sure that the butter you use doesn’t get too soft when working with it. The distinctive feature of puff pastry are the alternating layers of dough and butter – the reason puff pastry gets so airy and flaky. If you are a bit sloppy while preparing the dough, the butter may get too soft or even melt and vanish inside the dough. The result would be a pastry that does not puff up properly.
Well. We only prepare puff pastry from scratch when there is enough time and whenever we want to do something special. Puff pastry cheese sticks are delicious, but not »special« enough to do all that extra labor. Sorry. ;P For those recipes I prefer something pre-made from the supermarket. There are some good products you can use. The organic supermarket around in our neighborhood has a great frozen puff pastry dough made with organic wholemeal flour, for example.
If you still want to prepare your own puff pastry, you could also prepare a quicker puff pastry dough aka. rough puff pasty. That’s a faster puff pastry version, which is ready in only 15 minutes or so. It does not turn out quite as fluffy and crispy as »real« puff pastry when baked, but it’s definitely an option for these simple cheese sticks here.
Using homemade puff pastry or store-bought dough – preparing the cheese sticks is super easy. We like using a strong and flavorful cheese, and season the cheese sticks with crushed caraway seeds and cayenne pepper. Works well, but that’s up to you, of course. If you don’t like caraway seeds, you can use other spices instead. Oregano, thyme, rosemary, or even curry powder… there’s so much you could use. Just make sure you are using a good amount of the spices. It would be a shame to go to all that trouble and end up with boring tasting cheese sticks. ;P
If you have some leftover puff pastry at home or would like to try out other recipes with this type of dough, you can find much more here on the blog for that – sweet and savory stuff. If you like savory snacks and finger food, you should definitely take a look at our little Pigs in a Blanket. The perfect party food, right?!
Of course, puff pastry is also great for preparing sweet treats. Our Heart Palmiers are just one of many examples here. Whether as a snack for yourself or as a gift for Valentines – you can make these little crunchy hearts for many occasions!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 30 sticks)
1 roll (approx. 270g) of fresh puff pastry (refrigerated counter)
approx. 100-120g cheese (e.g. Parmesan & Gruyère mixed), grated finely
1 tbsp. caraway seeds
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
1 large egg yolk
some water
(etwa 30 Stangen)
1 Rolle (etwa 270g) frischer Blätterteig (Kühltheke)
etwa 100-120g Käse (zB. Parmesan & Gruyère gemixt), gerieben
1 EL Kümmelsamen
2 TL Cayennepfeffer
Salz, Pfeffer
1 Eigelb (L)
etwas Wasser
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set it aside. Remove the puff pastry dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 10 minutes.
2. Grate the cheese and place it in a small bowl. Crush the cumin seeds in a mortar, together with the cayenne pepper, some salt, and pepper, then add the spices to the cheese and mix well.
3. Roll out the puff pastry dough. Mix the egg yolk with some water and brush the dough with it. Spread the cheese mixture with the spices evenly on top and press everything down a little. Cut the puff pastry with the cheese on top into strips – they should be about 12-15 cm long and about 2-3 cm wide. Twist these strips and stretch them out a little, so they get longer. Place them on the baking sheet with some space between them. If you have any egg yolk left over, you can brush the cheese sticks with it so they brown a bit more when baking. Bake the cheese sticks in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the sticks from the oven and let them cool briefly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and let them cool down completely. The baked cheese sticks can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but they are best when fresh!
Note: If you don’t like caraway seeds, you can of course add other spices to the cheese blend. Paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, etc. all work well here. If you like, you can also sprinkle the sticks with some sesame seeds before baking.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Umluft vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Den Blätterteig aus dem Kühlschrank nehmen und etwa 10 Minuten auf Raumtemperatur kommen lassen.
2. Den Käse reiben und in eine kleine Schüssel geben. Die Kümmelsamen mit dem Cayennepfeffer, etwas Salz und Pfeffer in einem Mörser zerstoßen, dann zum Käse dazugeben und alles gut vermengen.
3. Den Blätterteig ausrollen. Das Eigelb mit dem Wasser verrühren und den Teig mit dem Eigelb bestreichen. Die Käsemischung mit den Gewürzen gleichmäßig darauf verteilen und etwas festdrücken. Den Blätterteig mit dem Käse dann in Streifen schneiden – diese sollten 12-15 cm lang und etwa 2-3 cm breit sein. Diese Streifen in sich verdrehen und dabei etwas in die Länge ziehen. Mit etwas Abstand zueinander auf das Backblech setzen. Wer noch Eigelb übrig hat, kann Reste hier auf die Stangen streichen, damit sie beim Backen noch etwas mehr Farbe bekommen. Die Käsestangen im vorgeheizten Ofen für etwa 12-15 Minuten backen oder bis sie goldbraun geworden sind. Aus dem Ofen holen und auf dem Blech kurz abkühlen lassen, dann auf ein Kuchengitter setzen und komplett auskühlen lassen. Die gebackenen Käsestangen kann man in einem luftdicht schließenden Behälter bis zu 3 Tage aufbewahren – frisch sind sie allerdings am besten!
Tipp: Wer mit Kümmel nichts anfangen kann, darf die Käsestangen natürlich auch mit anderen Gewürzen verfeinern. Paprika, Zwiebelpulver, Knoblauchpulver, Thymian, etc. passt hier alles prima. Wer mag, kann die Stangen vor dem Backen auch noch mit etwas Sesam bestreuen.
Craving more? Keep in touch on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for new post updates and more. You can also contact me with any questions or inquiries!
Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Easy Puff Pastry Cheese Sticks
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:15
- Total Time: 00:30
- Yield: 30 1x
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
You need a snack for an evening watching a nice movie or having a beer with friends? Well, these puff pastry cheese sticks are just perfect for that.
Ingredients
1 roll (approx. 270g) of fresh puff pastry (refrigerated counter)
approx. 100-120g cheese (e.g. Parmesan & Gruyère mixed), grated finely
1 tbsp. caraway seeds
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
1 large egg yolk
some water
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set it aside. Remove the puff pastry dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 10 minutes.
2. Grate the cheese and place it in a small bowl. Crush the cumin seeds in a mortar, together with the cayenne pepper, some salt, and pepper, then add the spices to the cheese and mix well.
3. Roll out the puff pastry dough. Mix the egg yolk with some water and brush the dough with it. Spread the cheese mixture with the spices evenly on top and press everything down a little. Cut the puff pastry with the cheese on top into strips – they should be about 12-15 cm long and about 2-3 cm wide. Twist these strips and stretch them out a little, so they get longer. Place them on the baking sheet with some space between them. If you have any egg yolk left over, you can brush the cheese sticks with it so they brown a bit more when baking. Bake the cheese sticks in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the sticks from the oven and let them cool briefly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and let them cool down completely. The baked cheese sticks can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but they are best when fresh!
Notes
If you don’t like caraway seeds, you can of course add other spices to the cheese blend. Paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, etc. all work well here. If you like, you can also sprinkle the sticks with some sesame seeds before baking.
Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links (advertising/Werbung) to Amazon Germany. If you click on one of those links and buy something via this link, I will get a commission for that sale. The price of whatever you buy is not affected in any way by this.
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
