Cheese Twists
Cheese twists are the delicious combination of cheese and puff pastry twisted into a light, crisp breadstick recipe that you can serve with soup and salad, or just dip into your favorite sauces.
Who doesn’t love a good breadstick? This easy cheese twist recipe takes store bought puff pastry dough and transforms it by coating it in cheese and twisting it in to pretty little puff pastry cheese straws before baking them into flaky breaksticks that go with just about everything.
We serve these twists alongside our favorite entrees, soups, salads, and dipping sauces for a treat our families love!
If you have some leftover puff pastry dough you need to try out easy cherry turnovers, Parmesan puff pastry pinwheels, and lemon cream cheese danish. Puff pastry is the best at making easy recipes out of this world good.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’re going to need for these easy puff pastry cheese twists:
- Puff pastry – The brand of puff pastry can make a big difference in the results of this recipe. We love Wewalka puff pastry found in the refrigerated section with the canned biscuits. We’ve found this refrigerated puff pastry gives us the most puff and the crispiest, flakiest layers.
As an alternative, you could use canned Pillsbury crescent rolls, but you won’t get the same flaky, light texture. If your store doesn’t carry Wewalka or another refrigerated puff pastry, you can always use Pepperidge farms frozen puff pastry.
Just make sure to let it thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours or out on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes so it is pliable and easy to work with.
- Grated cheeses – We use both Parmesan cheese and Romano cheese.
- Seasonings – For added flavor, we use garlic powder, Italian seasoning, Kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Egg – You’ll need this to make an egg wash for the tops of the pastries.
- Water – The water is used for the egg wash.
Instructions
Step 1 – Preheat the oven. The puff pastries we use call for 425°F. You should use the temperature listed on the package of puff pastry you use.
Step 2 – Open the puff pastry dough. Once you have it open, place the dough on a lightly floured surface.
Step 3 – Mix up the cheese and spices. In a small bowl, mix the cheeses, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper together until well combined.
Step 4 – Roll the dough. Before rolling, dust your rolling pin with flour and gently roll the dough out into a rectangle shape that is about 14 inches wide and 12 inches tall.
Step 5 – Make the egg wash. Place the egg and water in a small bowl and use a fork to whisk them together. Once combined, brush the wash onto the puff pastry.
Step 6 – Add the cheese mix. Sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly over the dough and use your rolling pin to gently press the ingredients into the dough. This will help keep them in place as you twist the dough in the next steps.
Step 7 – Cut the puff pastry into strips. We use a pizza cutter for best results but a sharp knife will work too. Use the pizza cutter to cut 12 thin vertical strips in the dough and then cut the dough horizontally. This will give you 24 pieces of dough.
Step 8 – Twist the dough. Lift a strip of dough and twist so that the cheese side faces out. Continue to twist until the dough is curled from top to bottom. Once ready, place the pastries on a parchment paper lined cookie or baking sheet. Make sure to leave a little room between them so they expand.
Step 9 – Bake the twists. Place the trays in the oven and bake for 18 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let them cool completely before serving with your favorite pastas, dipping sauces, salads, or soups.
Try Different Cheeses
Here’s the twist: you can make these pastries with several different kinds of cheese. Some other great choices include:
- extra sharp cheddar
- gruyere
- asiago
- manchego
- hard goat cheese
Another great option to try is to change up the spices to match the cheese. Dried spices, such as thyme, rosemary, paprika, or even chili powder, can go great when paired with the right cheese.
What to Serve Them With
These puff pastry cheese straws are flaky breadsticks covered in cheese. You can use them with pretty much meal you might serve breadsticks with, or you could serve them as a snack or appetizer.
One of our favorite pairings is with our Instant Pot Spaghetti. They work great to soak up the extra sauce.
Another great option is our Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells, Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-ups, or our Beef Braciole. These twists compliment the flavors and make a tasty combination that is simply delicious.
If you want to serve as an appetizer, we strongly recommend pairing them with marinara sauce, a flavored olive oil, or Ranch dressing to dip them in.
How to Make it Ahead of Time
You can easily make these twists ahead of time to serve throughout the week or for dinner later.
To make ahead, follow all instructions to bake and then let them cool completely. Once they are cool, place them in an airtight container and leave on the counter for 3 to 5 days at room temperature.
These twists don’t do well in the fridge. The cool, dry air can easily dry them out and make them less tasty.
You can freeze them though if you wrap them in plastic wrap and then place in an airtight container or resealable gallow freezer bag. They will keep fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months.
When you are ready to serve the frozen twists, allow them to thaw in the fridge. Once they are thawed, remove the plastic wrap and heat them in a 350 degrees F oven for about 5 minutes or until warmed through and crisp.
Looking for More Easy Bread Recipes?
- Texas Toast Garlic Bread
- Garlic Parmesan Popovers
- Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
- Overnight Refrigerator Yeast Rolls
- Gruyere Popovers
- Baking Powder Biscuits
- More Bread Recipes…
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Cheese Twists
Ingredients
- 1 sheet Puff pastry, thawed
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup Grated Romano cheese
- ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 Egg
- 1 tablespoon Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Note: Use temperature listed on the package of puff pastry you use.
- Open up the puff pastry dough and place on a lightly floured surface.
- In a small bowl combine the two types of cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Dust a rolling pin with flour and lightly roll dough out to a rectangle approximately 14 inches wide and 12 inches tall.
- Stir egg and water together and brush onto puff pastry.
- Sprinkle the dough with the cheese mixture and use your rolling pin to lightly press the ingredients into the dough.
- Using a pizza cutter cut the puff pastry into 12 thin vertical strips and then cut dough horizontally leaving you with 24 pieces of dough.
- Lift a strip of dough and twist so that the cheese side faces out. Continue twisting until dough is curled from top to bottom.
- Place puff pastry twists on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 18 minutes then remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
This looks insanely delicious! Thanks!
Thank you so much for this recipe = the other day I went to THREE different stores to buy these for a luncheon I had the other day and not a single one had them, so I improvised. I would have looked for a recipe but had to have them right then and couldn’t make them. I am soooooo making these soon. Yay. : – ) THX!!!!
Such a super simple appetizer, but always a hit!