How Many Cheese Straws?

I've shared before about making/baking cheese straws. The secret is in the cookie press. I have an antique cookie press that belonged to Mark's grandmother and then Mark's mother used it for years and years. We only have one tiny star disk which you NEED to make them the way we make them. The recipe is simple - cheese, flour, lots of butter, and a touch of red pepper.

My neighbor asked for info about baking cheese straws. I told her I would share the family recipe and the tips and tricks I've learned. I won't share the press though. I've searched the internet for another disk (is it disc or disk?) and can't find one. My friend suggested that I get our other friend to make me some extras. One of his hobbies is working with metal. I may need to do just that.

Many months ago, I volunteered to bake the cheese straws for our women's retreat. I've now made about half of them. On Friday, I mixed up not one . . .not two . . .but three recipes worth. I covered the island with wax paper trying to limit the mess.

This was the first time I've baked cheese straws in the new ovens. Just FYI, I burned one of the first batches (a big cookie sheet full!). Mark ate most of the burned ones.

I filled a small container with 30 cheese straws for a friend's birthday. Mark ate the burned ones. The three containers below (showing is the short side) contain a total of 375. I'll need to make at least 2 more batches before the third weekend of this month.

After I finished baking, Pottery Barn delivered our new sofa. We still need to replace our rugs.

Our my new bookcases were on that same PB truck and the delivery guys took all of the pieces up the steps and put them together. Mark anchored them to the wall and I've begun filling them. I'm 65 years old and I LOVE books and these are the nicest bookcases I've ever owned and I'm excited.