The name comes from the German word for POPPY which is MOHN. The thinner you make them, the better. They are very dense - like a shortbread - and not sweet. Great with coffee. The dough is crumbly, so when I get to the end, I form a log (this could be done in plastic) and slice the log. I also use a small cookie cutter as the larger they are, the harder they are to cook through to the middle.
I'd never tasted or even heard of these cookies before I saw the recipe here while looking for a lemon and poppy seed muffin recipe. I made these cookies instead. These came out so good. I got about 8 dozen cookies out of the batch (I used a smallish heart-shaped cookie cutter). Not having tasted them before, the taste and texture of the cookie base itself reminded me a little of a shortbread cookie. These cookies go really well with a cup of tea, as noted in another review. The cookies are only mildly sweet. They keep their shape well while baking. They are sturdy and crunchy without being hard. I had a slight problem with the dough sticking as I rolled it out, so I just dusted on some more flour to make it work. I am about to make another batch right now!
Those who've not tried this recipe are really missing out! This is a great cookie to add to a more traditional holiday plate, because it looks so elegant. The taste is subtle with a lovely lemony finish. (I was generous with the lemon zest.) I was initially concerned about straying away from the circle shape, but my stars turned out lovely. I could easily see one adding a nice sugar glaze if they want a more decadent flavor, but I don't think it's necessary.
These are always a big hit . Whenever I bring
them to a gathering I'm always asked for the
recipe!. Sometime I substitute orange zest and
organge juice and they are wonderful also!
This is a wondeerful recipe. The cookies tasted just heavenly with a light citrus flavor and, as the author indicated, they are great with tea. It really accent the flavor of Earl Grey.
Ok. Found this because I'm at a cousin's wedding in CA and can't find our grandmother's recipe. Reading this brings it back. These are a Major Family Tradition from our eastern European Jewish heritage. But, our recipe uses oil to replace butter and 1/4 cup oj and no zest or lemon, no sugar topping. Important to brown 1/4" edge and a darkened meaning not a bright or white center. Keep them thin and krispy. Real sticky to roll and cut. Keep a slab of marble dusted with flour or will stck to marble and roller. I add the fresh Polish poppy seeds fro Penzey's at the last minite to help mixing and folding. Also refrig the dough for couple hours or overnite before rolling. It helps a lot. I make tubes and then.roll them and cut onto parallelograms and place on cookie sheet slicked with crisco. Not too much but enough to aboid sticking. I think ours uses a full cup of sugar but they come out with a lite mild sweetness. I break the batch of dough in half and freeze until a family event or an emergency munn cookie craving ... or my mom's birthday. Last batch 10 days ago for her 88th. Tip: don't forget the sugar and not a drop more than one cup of oil. NO BuTTER. I brought my own Penzey'S seeds from Philadelphia to Venice Beach. Rented a house so we'd have an oven today. Wedding is tomorrow. Also brought Tastykakes just in case I forgot the recipe. But that is why I'm here sharing with y'all. Turning on oven now. Bye.
These cookies are very crumbly and biscuit like. I didn't use quite 1/2 cup of poppy seeds. Instead of egg wash and sugar on top I used sugar cookie icing from this site and added lemon extract and yellow food coloring. I usually like thick chewy cut out cookies but the thin crispies were better with these. I did not like these without the icing but they were very good with it. Very tart and fresh! Thanks Alex!
just what I was looking for!
They are really called mohn cookies (mohn is poppy in German and they are Yiddish cookies); those were... okay.
