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Italian Straws

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on October 28, 2011

Yield

Makes 14 straws

Italian Straws

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (½ box), thawed on counter for 10 minutes¼ cup minced sun-dried tomatoes 2 tablespoons drained minced capers 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil 2 teaspoons minced garlic ¼ teaspoon table salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Before You Begin

Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, sold in the supermarket freezer case, works well with this recipe. Thaw the puff pastry on the counter as you preheat the oven and prepare the rest of the ingredients. This recipe requires parchment paper, available next to the plastic wrap in the market. Completely cooled straws can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days--but they won't last long.

Instructions

  1. Adjust two oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Place puff pastry on sheet of parchment and sprinkle with 1/2 each of remaining ingredients. Place another sheet of parchment over seasonings and, using rolling pin, press them into dough by gently rolling pin back and forth. Without removing parchment, carefully flip dough over, seasoning-side down. Remove top layer of parchment and sprinkle pastry with remaining ingredients. Cover pastry with parchment and continue to roll out, if necessary, to form 10 1/2-inch square.
  2. Remove top sheet of parchment and, using sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into fourteen 3/4-inch-wide strips. Holding each end, gently twist strips of dough in opposite direction and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing strips about 1 inch apart.
  3. Bake immediately, until fully puffed and golden brown, about 10 minutes, reversing positions of baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.
Italian Straws

Italian Straws

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Makes 14 straws

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (½ box), thawed on counter for 10 minutes
¼ cup minced sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons drained minced capers
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (½ box), thawed on counter for 10 minutes
¼ cup minced sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons drained minced capers
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (½ box), thawed on counter for 10 minutes
¼ cup minced sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons drained minced capers
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Why This Recipe Works

Crispy straws at any gourmet store can be pricey. We wanted a recipe for crispy straws that would be simple and easy to make at home. We used store bought puff pastry dough to create twisty, crispy straws. In this recipe we sprinkled them with minced sun-dried tomatoes, capers, garlic, and basil to create Italian Straws.

Before You Begin

Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, sold in the supermarket freezer case, works well with this recipe. Thaw the puff pastry on the counter as you preheat the oven and prepare the rest of the ingredients. This recipe requires parchment paper, available next to the plastic wrap in the market. Completely cooled straws can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days--but they won't last long.

Instructions

  1. Adjust two oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Place puff pastry on sheet of parchment and sprinkle with 1/2 each of remaining ingredients. Place another sheet of parchment over seasonings and, using rolling pin, press them into dough by gently rolling pin back and forth. Without removing parchment, carefully flip dough over, seasoning-side down. Remove top layer of parchment and sprinkle pastry with remaining ingredients. Cover pastry with parchment and continue to roll out, if necessary, to form 10 1/2-inch square.
  2. Remove top sheet of parchment and, using sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into fourteen 3/4-inch-wide strips. Holding each end, gently twist strips of dough in opposite direction and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing strips about 1 inch apart.
  3. Bake immediately, until fully puffed and golden brown, about 10 minutes, reversing positions of baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.

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