Rhapsody in Cheese

Hello Dear-hearts!

I've been one busy little beaver lately and it's been TOUGH finding time to bake much less post.

BUT...DO I HAVE A FUN POST FOR Y'ALL TODAY!

The Cheese Straws worked!

My childhood bff, Dawn, is like...miss improv comedy 2012 and does lights, etc. for an improv show called FUN! on Monday nights in Long Island City. She asked me last week if I could bring some fun sized baked goods and naturally I said 'Yes!' and I used the opportunity to try out Miss Sally Stockton's Cheese Straws.

Sally is a friend of my mom's and apparently makes cheese straws once a week. After my first attempt at these went 'THUD' I was looking for a tried-and-true recipe and Sally was kind enough to send me hers. Lemme tell ya...it's an expensive recipe to screw up and I was nervous, but these turned out PERFECT! They're cheesy, crunchy on the bottom, slightly soft throughout, and have a little kick from the cayenne at the end.

Also, the recipe makes a ton, which is good cause the improv show attendees gobbled 'em up like crazy.

Pretty much the whole recipe and tips are on the short video below. ENJOY!

I sold 'em then ate the rest...

First, let me apologize for the lack of pictures and/or video.

Second,

DOLLOP OF DIXIE MADE HER FIRST SALE!!!!!

Maybe it's silly and over-excited to be be so...EXCITED...but when your goal is to sell stuff and you finally DO sell stuff...it's just very encouraging.

Honestly it was a weird feeling to get paid. I almost felt guilty. Like, 'No sweetheart! These are on me!' almost escaped my mouth. Was that because I've just always given away my tasty treats or because I'm just too damn 'naaaaaahce' for my little southern girl good? We could spend an hour analyzing that, but I think another couple orders and another couple months of unemployment will fix the whole 'guilt' thing.

'So what did they order, Laura?'

So glad you asked!

He ordered a dozen pecan tassies (2 bite pecan pies) for $15 ( a steal don't you think? )

It gave me a nice excuse to pay Bed Bath and Beyond a tempting visit. I mean...can YOU walk into a Bed Bath and Beyond and NOT impulse buy? No. No you can't. When I began, I needed a non-stick mini muffin pan. When I finished, I had a mini muffin pan, a complete set of pastry bags and tips, a fabric shower curtain, and 4 champagne flutes (CLEARANCE!!!!). It was thrilling.

I went home and started baking the tassies. Here's the recipe:

cream cheese crust:

3 ounces room temp cream cheese

1 stick not exactly room temp butter

1 cup flour (whole wheat flour works well!)

mix with a potato masher, forks, fingers, whatever you got, til it forms a dough. roll into balls just smaller than an even Tablespoon and refrigerate for about an hour.

pecan filling:

2/3 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup brown sugar (i used dark brown but light brown works nicely, too)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

dash of salt

1 Tablespoon room temp. butter

mix. seriously. that's it. mix.

pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

With your fingers, pat the dough balls into the sides/bottom of the mini muffin tin (no greasing necessary). Fill with 1/2 tablespoon or so of the filling. Try not to over-fill but if you do...whatever.

Bake for 20-25 mins and enjoy!

Lucky for me (and some friends) the recipe yielded 19 mini pies. I boxed up a dozen for sale and took the remaining pies to a girlfriend's apartment. The Joy of Baking, indeed.

I'm also very proud of Maren Flagg for making this ALL BY HERSELF! My little princess is learning domestic stuff! *tear*