Mohn Kichlach/Poppy Seed Cookies by Dawn Lerman

Beauty knew my father was always dieting and eating “food-like” products instead of real food, and this upset her because she knew that during the week, when I was home with my parents, this was the food they would give me. “Food needs to have a delicious, fresh taste and smell,” she would tell me, and she would always make me smell and taste things to guess the ingredients, whether it was vanilla in cookies, strawberries in freshly baked muffins, or dill in a barrel of pickles. “It needs to be made in nature and not in a factory.” – Dawn Lerman, My Fat Dad

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup granulated sugar

1cup butter, softened, or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Parchment paper for rolling out the dough and lining the baking sheet

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1 egg yolk thinned with 2 tablespoons of water for a thin egg wash

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In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture is a light yellow color. Continue beating while adding the softened butter (or vegetable oil) and vanilla. Mix well.

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Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl and with a fork mix so that the poppy seeds are evenly distributed throughout. Then add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until the dough just comes together. Form it in a ball and roll out the dough between 2 parchment papers about an inch thick. Place on a sheet pan and refrigerate the dough till until it hardens, about 20 minutes.

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

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Take the dough out of the fridge and peel off the parchment paper. Cut into desired shapes using a knife or pizza cutter. Place squares on the prepared baking sheet and brush on the egg wash. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly puffed and golden.

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Cool on a wire rack. The cookies will harden as they cool

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Recipes from MY FAT DAD: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, with Recipes

By Dawn Lerman

Berkley Books/September 2015