All the cookie pictures and recipes I have been seeing in the run-up to the holidays have brought back vivid memories of my grandmother Nanny’s poppy seed cookies.
As is clear in my descriptions of her in my book, Nanny was the quintessential Jewish mother/grandmother. This meant, among other things, that anyone who set foot in her home was presumed to be starving and must be promptly fed. I have many memories of her cooking — piroshkis, borscht, jellied salmon. But the thing that serves as my Proustian madeleine is the memory of the poppy seed cookies. Hers were round little balls rolled in powdered sugar. She sent them to me at college packed in a coffee can lined with wax paper. The recipe below is the closest one I have found to hers. Enjoy!
Poppy Seed Cookies (Recipe from here)
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 sticks butter (12 oz)
- 1 egg optional
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest about three lemons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Combine the sugar and butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Mix until well-blended and light in color.
- Mix in egg if using.
- Add poppy seeds, lemon zest and vanilla.
- Add flour gradually, continuing until a dough has formed.
- Roll into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake 15 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to rack until completely cool.
