White Cheddar Breadsticks

Thanksgiving of '08 was a cooking paradise. My days were busy with creating a turducken from scratch (a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey with three stuffings- this story begins tells my crazy turducken adventure) Because the turducken is a large undertaking, I needed simple recipes for all the other food options from veggies to bread.

These are super simple breadsticks that will wow your guest. We found they worked well with a holiday dinner or just with cocktails!

If you like crispy, flaky sticks- roll them slightly thinner and bake slightly longer. Leave them a little thicker for a doughy center. My oven was literally taken over and held hostage by the turducken, so I made my first batch in the toaster oven on a piece of tin foil. The breadsticks allrose and baked together, leaving the insides just slightly chewy. It was heaven in a toaster oven and almost makes we want to write a toaster oven cook book. That is the feeling of being fat and happy!

Tips and Techniques:  Use this as a base recipe and change up the cheese and fresh herb: try Parmesan or Asiago with basil, or fresh thyme with manchego cheese, or go for a spicy jalapeno, cheddar and oregano!

White Cheddar Breadsticks
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar
1/2 tsp (heaping) baking powder
1 tbls fresh sage, chopped
1/4 tsp salt (a pinch)
3 tbls olive oil

Ice cold water
course salt

Pulse all ingredients in the food processor. Add ONLY 1 tbls at a time:
Ice cold water (roughly 1/4 cup or as needed)

Just want to add enough water to make the dough all come together. It will form in ball and 'ride the blade' of the processor; the dough will be slightly sticky.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half, cut each half in half, and then half again; you should have 8 little pieces.  Roll each section out to form a breadstick. Place on an oiled sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a course salt.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

**In case your curious, using powder sugar in place of flour does not work ... and it's not necessarily Dave's fault that happened ... when you consider that flour and powder sugar look similar and they are stored in the exact same size container and neither container is marked...