This is the first recipe I remember following as a child. I used to make them all the time because they are really simple and quite addictive; you can’t just have one! I made these for people at work because they are cheese fanatics. Even with a double batch and they were gone by 9:10am, bearing in mind we start work at 9am I think they went down pretty well!

When I was a child, my Mum had a Be-Ro cooking book which from the look of it was very well used. A couple of years ago when I moved into my own house, my Mum gave me an updated version (the 40th addition!) because every house needs a Be-Ro book. I have slightly adapted the recipe with my Mum’s guidance from years ago – the cayenne pepper in my opinion make these cheese straws that little bit more special.

100g self raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
50g butter
85g cheese
1 egg

1. Heat the oven to 180ºC and spray a baking tray with oil
2. Mix together the flour, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Add the butter and rub into the flour mix using the tips of your fingers and your thumbs. Try not to be too heavy handed, you are trying to get it to the consistency of breadcrumbs

3. Stir in the cheese keeping roughly 10g back and add enough egg to form a stiff dough – depending on the size of your egg, you may not need to use all of it so add a little at a time
4. Lightly dust your surface and roll the dough until it is approximately 5mm thick. Cut the dough into strips, as big or as small as you like and then put them on the baking tray

5. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the cheese straws and then put in the oven for 10-5 minutes until golden

I make these the way I have made them since I was a child so they always look quite rustic. They are one of the few things I don’t really mind how they look because it’s just how I have always made them; and more importantly they are never around long enough for people to really take much notice of how they look!