Party season is yet again upon us (in our household, it starts early, thanks to the toddler’s December birthday) and it’s time to start thinking of nibbly things to have with drinks.
This is a super easy cheese twist recipe that you can make ahead and have stored in the freezer (uncooked) ready to go in case of expected or unexpected guests. It’s also versatile – experiment with your favourite cheeses or add in herbs or spices. I made these for a children’s party, so just stuck with cheese, but if I were to make them again I’d definitely add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
My approach is a slight variation on an Australian Women’s Weekly recipe. I think that folding the pastry onto itself makes it a lot easier to handle when it comes to twisting.
For freezing – freeze the twists on baking paper lined baking trays initially. Once frozen you can bag them up and then just cook straight from the freezer.
Perfect!
Ingredients
- 2 sheets of puff pastry (frozen is fine, if you can find butter puff, that's great!)
- ½ cup of grated parmesan
- ½ cup of grated cheddar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- flour for the board
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C (conventional, 200°C fan).
- Defrost the pastry. Lightly dust your worktop with flour and roll out the pastry a little, retaining the shape.
- Brush the entire sheet with the egg wash.
- Generously sprinkle half the sheet with the mixed cheeses. At this stage you could also sprinkle over some cayenne or paprika, or herbs.
- Fold the pastry over and press down.
- Slice width wise (that is, cut along the short edge).
- Take a piece and press down along its length and then twist, placing it on a baking paper lined baking tray.
- Repeat until all the pastry is used up.
- If freezing - freeze at this point. Otherwise, brush with egg wash and bake for 10-15 minutes until puffed and golden.
- Serve immediately.
Love cheese twists! I wonder how these would be with the addition of some mustard and/or bacon pieces? 🙂
Adding some chopped bacon or ham would be great, mustard too, especially if you used a combo like Gruyere and Cheddar.
Personally, I think I’ll be adding blue cheese to the parmesan/cheddar mix next time …