Super Poppyseed cookies

If you were not aware that there is an online Lithuanian Cookbook, then let me advise you- there is. From this cookbook I've tried a few adventures- mushroom onion raviolis, croquettes with mushroom sauce, poppyseed pancakes, carrot pancakes, honey mushroom cookies (still haven't turned out), poppyseed milk, kugelis, sausage, ham buns, cold beet soup, and poppyseed cookies. Often times the cookbook is my culinary jumping board, the book might lack key ingredients for a recipe or it might lack directions I feel make a lot of sense. Today's adventure was Poppyseed cookies. Every picture I found of "Poppyseed Cookies" made the poppy seeds look secondary, as if they were but sugar cookies with poppy seeds sprinkled in. This recipe however is 2 parts poppyseed to one part flour and it starts off looking like the stuff you scrape from the bottom of your oven. The flavor is distinctly poppy. I am a huge fan, I will definitely make this again. It is a sweet and spongy cookie, very reminiscent of poppy milk.

Super Poppyseed Cookies:

2 cups Poppy seeds

1 cup Flour

3 Eggs

2Tbsp Sour Cream

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 cup Sugar

First, we scorch the poppy seeds. This makes the poppy seeds swell and soften to give up their milky insides. Place 2 cups of poppy seeds in a sauce pan and cover with water. Stir the water in to get rid of any air pockets and make sure the poppy seeds are all wet. Cover by 1/2 inch water, bring to a boil then turn down the heat to med-low for 5 minutes. At the end of 5 minutes, drain the water out. For a strainer, I use what I like to call "Kitchen hose" which is hosiery employed as a strainer; however, if you don't have kitchen hose, you may use a tight wire strainer. Empty the drained poppy seeds into a food processor & grind the white guts out of them. The poppies will be more paste like in consistency than they were before their guts came out.

Put the poppyseed paste into a mixing bowl & beat in 3 eggs.

In a little bity bowl, mix the sour cream with the baking soda then mix this in with the poppy seeds.

Add the vanilla & sugar & flour to the poppyseed mix.

Drop the dough by tablespoon onto a non-stick surface & bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes or until it is a bit golden.

-Enjoy!

My Food Photography is a work in progress,

these pictures will someday be replaced by more skillful work.