Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies have been one of my favorite Cookies by Bess cookie recipes since I was a kid. I remember baking Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies with my Mom, not just at the holidays but anytime for any occasion. They are great at holiday time, because Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies are a beautifully fancy cookie that will add sophistication to any holiday cookie platter!
As I read the Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies recipe and prepared to make Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies, I realized something in the recipe I never notice before. The recipe says to press the center of the cookie in after it cools and then fill with melted chocolate bits. My memory of the chocolate bits was to place one in the center of each cookie before or after baking…maybe this was a time saving adjustment Grandma Bess or my Mom made.
Actually, I’m glad I learned to make Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies without melting the chocolate bits. I think the whole chocolate bit gives the Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies a wonderful personality and fancy finish. Thank you Mom for your creative and time saving adjustment to this wonderful holiday cookie recipe!
This time around, I debated whether I should follow Grandma Bess’ recipe as written or go with my Mom’s variation. I decided to go with my Mom’s version because I just love the way the end result cookies look with the chocolate bit sitting on top.
I’m rating Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies 2-stars for cookie baking difficulty. The dough mixes up nicely and rolling the cookie balls is easy and quick. I like the Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies to be small and in proportion with the chocolate bit, so it did take a bit to roll out all the cookie balls. But well worth the effort when you see the end result cookies!
I was able to pull all the ingredients together easily. Luckily, I had enough poppy seeds in my baking pantry!
The dough is a wonderful blond color…mixed in the poppy seeds adds the perfect color contrast!
Just look at how pretty this cookie dough is! Pretty enough to eat! ?
I started rolling the cookie balls by taking a small bit of dough.
The dough is a perfect consistency for rolling the balls.
Because the cookie balls were small, I was able to put a lot of cookies on each cookie sheet.
I was now ready to press in the center of each cookie. The recipe says to use your thumb. It seemed to me my knuckle would also do the trick. I ended up using my knuckle and finger/thumb.
Okay, so at this point I had a couple options. First, I baked the cookies without the chocolate bit.
Next I baked the cookies with the chocolate bits. The chocolate bits were easy to place on the cookie balls.
Super pretty and ready to bake in on time!
The indentation on the cookies without the chocolate bit seems to bake away in the oven.
The cookies with the chocolate chip seemed to bake up perfectly. The chocolate bit kept it’s shape while baking.
I pulled the cookies out of the oven after baking for about 10 minutes.
The recipe says to let the cookies cool and then press in the center again. Doing this was a bit difficult and caused a few of the cookies to crack. I did the best I could and placed the chocolate bits in the center.
The chocolate bit melted a bit when I put it in the center of the warm cookie. Interesting, it took a long time for the chocolate bits to firm up again.
The cookies with the chocolate bits were done! They cooled nicely and and the chocolate bit firmed up sooner than the other version.
After trying both options for baking and placing the chocolate bits, I know understand why my Mom made the adjustment she did. Baking the cookies with the chocolate bits if easier and faster…and the cookies look beautiful with the chocolate bit on top!
Just look at how pretty these cookies are! Pretty enough to eat!
You can’t go wrong with Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies. Whether you bake them with the chocolate bit or not, they will look and taste great!
I’m sure you all can see why Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies are one of my favorites! Perfect for your holiday parties and perfect for any occasion.
I hope you will try Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies…a wonderful cookie that will brighten up your holiday cookie platters and your day! ?
XXOO,
Janet
