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Fingers of Cheese
1148. Half a pound of flour, half a pound of grated cheese, half a pound of butter, half a tea-spoonful of cayenne dissolved in a teacup full of hot milk. Mix all well together with the hand, roll it out and cut it into the size and shape of finger biscuits, and bake them in a quick oven, taking care not to scorch them.
MACARONI. 1149. Wash one ounce of macaroni, and soak it in one pint of new milk six hours, then stew it in the milk; or drop it at once into the milk, and stew it till quite tender for about one hour and a half. Lay it in the dish, grate cheese finely over it with some butter and bread crumbs, brown with a salamander or in a Dutch oven.
A short, rich cheese pastry cut into straws, worth making for the savoury course or with drinks. The proportions are equal weights of flour, butter and cheese, so the dough is soft and needs handling cold.
- Quick ovenUsually glossed at about 400-425F. At that heat the fingers need only about 8-12 minutes; the warning against scorching is real, because the cheese and butter darken well before the pastry looks done.
- A teacupfulIn this period a teacup is reckoned at about a quarter of a pint, roughly 5 fl oz or two-thirds of a cup. Add it gradually — with half a pound each of butter and cheese the dough may come together well before the milk is used up.
- CayenneHalf a teaspoon across a pound and a half of dough is assertive but not extreme; dissolving it in hot milk is what distributes it evenly. Start with a quarter teaspoon if you want a milder straw.
- The cheeseUse a dry, hard, well-aged cheese — mature Cheddar, Cheshire or a dry Gloucester. Young or moist cheese leaks fat and slackens the dough.
- Keep it coldMixing with the hand warms the butter. Work quickly, then rest the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before rolling, or the fingers spread and toughen.
- Rolling and cuttingRoll to about a quarter of an inch and cut strips roughly 3 inches long and half an inch wide, the shape of the old finger biscuit. Bake on an unbuttered sheet; there is fat enough in the dough.
- Yield and keepingThis quantity makes about 50-60 fingers. Cool them on a rack — they crisp as they cool — and store airtight, refreshing briefly in a hot oven if they soften.