Vegetarian cheese straws with Alpine cheese and spelt

Vegetarian cheese straws with Alpine cheese and spelt, made from a quick quark and oil dough with paprika, twisted and baked until golden brown. Finger food and snacks for New Year's Eve, 232 kcal per three straws.

At a glance

• Serves 8
• Prep time: 20 min
• Cooking time: 15 min
• Total time: 35 min
• Calories: 232 kcal per serving
• Protein: 10 g
• Fat: 11 g
• Carbs: 23 g

Ingredients

• 250g spelt flour
• 125g low-fat quark
• 50ml olive oil
• 50ml milk
• 1 egg
• 100g Alpine cheese (such as Gruyère)
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp salt

Method

You’ll need: oven · baking tray · grater

1. Finely grate the Alpine cheese and beat the egg.
2. Stir together the low-fat quark, milk, olive oil, half the egg and the salt. Knead in the spelt flour, baking powder and two-thirds of the cheese.
3. Roll the dough out on baking paper into a 24 by 30 cm rectangle, brush with the rest of the egg and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the paprika.
4. Cut into 24 strips, twist them into spirals and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
5. Bake the cheese straws in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan) for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
6. Leave them to cool on a wire rack and serve as finger food.

Good to know

Cheese straws are the first thing to disappear from a New Year's Eve buffet. With quark and oil dough, you don't need shop-bought puff pastry, and you're done in half an hour.

Swaps

Alpine cheese → vegetarian hard cheese (Parmesan-style; stronger). Paprika → caraway or sesame (contains sesame). Spelt flour → plain flour. Milk → oat milk.

Cooking tips

Twist the strips once they're on the tray so they don't tear. They're crispiest fresh from the oven.

Storage

Keeps for 2 days in a tin; crisp up briefly in the oven at 160 °C.

Allergens

Contains gluten (spelt), milk and egg; no nuts, suitable for children.