Party snack, dinner side, cheesy accompaniment for chili: bread sticks, made with flaky pastry dough, expected and unexpected all twirled into one addictive savory treat.
Bread sticks are often a disappointment. Too much bread and not enough topping, or so overwhelmingly large that committing to even one seems too much. Or they’re thin and brittle, crumbling as you bite in and leaving a shower of crumbs down the front of your shirt. Not these bread sticks, they will Rick Roll you with their goodness, never let you down: just enough bread to be called bread sticks, crisp but not brittle, and cheesy enough to properly be called a party snack. Because, you know, football. Be it our American variety or the global sort.
When I made the biscuits for the biscuits and shiitake mushroom gravy I forgot the baking powder. I had just cut the dough into biscuit shaped pieces when I realized my omission. Happily that particular biscuit dough, minus leavener, has all the ingredients for a flaky pastry dough. So I wrapped up the first batch and threw it in the fridge. Bonus dough. That hardly ever happens.
To make the bread sticks I took the pastry dough and treated it like a rough puff pastry, rolling it into a rectangle, folding into thirds, rolling into a rectangle, folding into thirds, and then rolling out to form the bread sticks. I did this because I knew I wanted the dough to be thin and yet still have structure.
Cheesy Tomatillo Bread Sticks
Makes approximately 24 mini bread sticks with the scaled back biscuit recipe. Probably more like 30 if using a full recipe.
Ingredients
- Flaky pastry dough, see notes above.
- About 1/4 cup tomatillo salsa or salsa verde
- 6 ounces shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ½ cup Cilantro
- 1/2 tsp. mayonnaise
- Smoked paprika
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 400
Line two baking sheets with parchment
Divide the dough into four pieces.
Roll out dough to approximately 1/8th of an inch thick (about one foot square)
Brush on a Tablespoon or so of the salsa verde
Top with 1/4 of the shredded cheese and ¼ of the cilantro
Fold the dough over, forming a rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and refrigerate. Repeat the steps with the remaining ingredients. Putting two rectangles of dough per sheet of parchment.
Brush the outside of the dough with a very light coat of mayo and dust with smoked paprika
On the parchment cut the dough into 1” wide strips and then twist, pinching the end if necessary to make sure they keep their shape. Place at least an inch apart on the parchment.
Bake 12 minutes or until crisp, rotating the pans half way through if need be.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cheesy Tomatillo Bread Sticks
Ingredients
- About 1/4 cup tomatillo salsa or salsa verde
- 6 ounces shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ½ cup Cilantro
- approximately 1/2 tsp. mayonnaise
- Smoked paprika
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400
- Line two baking sheets with parchment
- Divide the dough into four pieces.
- Roll out dough to approximately 1/8th of an inch thick (about one foot square)
- Brush on a Tablespoon or so of the salsa verde
- Top with 1/4 of the shredded cheese and ¼ of the cilantro
- Fold the dough over, forming a rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and refrigerate. Repeat the steps with the remaining ingredients. Putting two rectangles of dough per sheet of parchment.
- Brush the outside of the dough with a very light coat of mayo and dust with smoked paprika
- On the parchment cut the dough into 1” wide strips and then twist, pinching the end if necessary to make sure they keep their shape. Place at least an inch apart on the parchment.
- Bake 12 minutes or until crisp, rotating the pans half way through if need be.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
These are perfect! You are so right, bread sticks can often be a disappointment. I love that these are flaky and smaller. And that filling/topping…YUM!
Oh my word! These look amazing! Im adding these to my party appy list. I think ill probably just use puff pasty. Yum!