While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them with a thin coat of butter. Make sure your oven racks are in the upper and lower middle positions so the straws bake evenly.
To shape with a cookie press (traditional fluted straws): Fit a cookie press with a star or ridged disk. Working with one portion of dough at a time, load the press according to the manufacturer’s directions. Press long, thin strips of dough directly onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1/2 inch wide. Use a small knife to cut them into 3- to 4-inch lengths. Leave a little space between each straw; they don’t spread much, but they need a bit of breathing room for the edges to crisp.
To shape by hand (if you don’t have a press): On a lightly floured surface, roll a portion of dough into a rough rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into narrow strips about 1/2 inch wide and 3 to 4 inches long. If you like, gently roll each strip between your palms or on the counter to round the edges slightly, then lay them on the prepared baking sheets. They won’t have the deep fluted edges of a press, but they’ll still bake up beautifully crisp
Bake the cheese straws for 14–18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until they are a deep golden orange with browned, crisped edges. They should smell toasty and cheesy, and the bottoms should be lightly browned. Watch closely toward the end so they don’t over-brown; every oven is a little different.
Remove the pans from the oven and let the cheese straws cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes to firm up. Then transfer them carefully to a wire rack to cool completely. They will crisp further as they cool, developing that flaky, buttery snap that makes them so addictive.
Once fully cooled, stack the cheese straws gently in a metal tin or airtight container, layering them with wax paper if needed. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. In my house they never make it that long—we all find excuses to walk past that tin and “just take one more.”
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