1 ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
½ t. salt
¼ to ½ t. cayenne pepper
Flour for dusting the work surface
1 pound frozen puff pastry, defrosted (the two sheet pack works best)
1 egg, beaten
Preparation:
Mix the cheese, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl and set aside.
Dust the work surface with flour and roll out one sheet of the puff pastry (or 8 oz of dough) into a 10 x 18 inch rectangle. Brush the entire surface with egg and sprinkle one cup of the cheese mixtures over the top half of the dough only). Fold the bottom half of the dough up and over the cheese and press the edges together with a rolling pin to seal. Then press the halves together gently to make the layers stick. Then roll out the dough again into a 10 x 18 rectangle.
Sprinkle a ¼ cup of the cheese mixture over the top of the dough and press the cheese into the dough. (they say with a rolling pin, but, honestly, your hand works better.
Using a pizza wheel or a long knife, trim the edges of the dough into a neat 10 x 18 rectangle and then cut it into ¾ x 10 inch strips. Twist each strip 4 or 5 times and place on a parchment-lines cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator to allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400
Bake the cheese straws for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature (if you can wait that long).