Recipes

Preheat oven to 350 – racks in the top 1/3 of the oven. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Set aside. In a separate bowl, either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla, scraping the sides again if needed. Being careful not to over-mix, stir in the flour mixture by hand. If the dough is on the dry side stir in the milk as well. Turn the dough out onto the counter-top, kneed it once or twice (just so it comes together) and form one large ball. Cut the dough into 4 quarters, then shape each piece into a ball. Flatten each of the four balls into 1/2-inch thick pancakes, and wrap each piece individually in plastic before chilling in the refrigerator for at least a half an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough wafer thin, about 1/8-inch, and stamp out using a cookie cutter. Arrange cookies 1-inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment or lightly greased. Sprinkle each cookie with turbinado sugar if desired. Bake for about seven minutes or until the cookie edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack.