Christmas Easy: Party Cheese Twists

The thing about buying ready-rolled puff pastry is that you often have some left over (as you will if you have made the Mincemeat and Apple Jalousie) and this recipe is a brilliant way to deal with it. These crispy, flaky twists are absolutely scrummy – perfect for New Year’s Eve with apéritifs or a drinks party. You can also sprinkle them with sesame seeds instead of cheese, if you prefer.

• Add to favourites
• Add to shopping list
• Print

Method

All you do is roll out the pastry thinly, on a lightly floured surface, to a 9 inch (23 cm) square. Then trim the edges of the pastry and brush the whole lot with beaten egg. After that, sprinkle with the Parmesan, cayenne and a little sea salt, then press this down into the pastry with your fingers, and now cut the square into ½ inch (1 cm) strips.

Now hold the end of each strip and twist them round and round, before pressing the ends on to the baking tray. (You can chill the twists at this stage if you don’t want to cook them straight away.) Then pop them into the oven to bake for 8 minutes, or until the twists are puffed and golden brown. Then allow them to cool and transfer them to a plastic freezer box to freeze.