Poppy Seed Cookies#1

These rolled poppy seed cookies use oil instead of butter, which gives them a lighter, crispier snap than your typical butter cookie. The dough comes together fast: eggs beaten with sugar, oil stirred in, then a full third cup of soaked poppy seeds and vanilla (or almond extract if you want that Eastern European bakery vibe).

Soaking the poppy seeds in warm water beforehand softens them so they release more of that nutty, slightly sweet flavor during baking. Don’t skip this step or you’ll end up with seeds that just crunch without contributing much taste.

Roll the dough thin, about ⅛ inch. These aren’t meant to be thick and chewy. That thin roll plus the sugar sprinkle on top gives you a cookie that shatters when you bite into it, with poppy seeds in every piece.

Kitchen Tips

• Chill the dough for 30 minutes if it’s too sticky to roll. Oil-based doughs can be soft at room temperature
• Flour your rolling surface generously since this dough tends to stick
• Watch the oven closely at the 8-minute mark. These go from golden to burnt in a hurry at that thinness
• A pizza cutter works great for cutting uniform squares if you don’t have cookie cutters

Variations

• Lemon poppy seed: Add the zest of one lemon to the dough and use lemon extract instead of vanilla
• Honey glaze: Brush warm cookies with a thin honey-water glaze for a sticky-sweet finish