Kūčiukai With Poppy Seed Milk: Christmas Biscuits with Poppy Seed Milk

Kūčiukai are bite-sized biscuits served with freshly made poppy milk that are only eaten during the Christmas season. These are usually referred to as Christmas Eve Biscuits. These are very easy to make, and children love to help make these. After they are done baking and cooling, they are very easy and fun for children to eat as an appetizer or a snack food as well for Christmas. While children love the biscuits, the poppy seed milk has a unique flavor that some do and do not like. Some just prefer the biscuits alone. For our family, if the children had the biscuits, they would just dip the biscuits in the milk and eat it, if they did not just eat the biscuits alone. This is definitely one of their all-time favorite appetizers and snack foods for Christmas. They also love to make them!

FOR KŪČIUKAI

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup water or milk (lukewarm)

• 2 teaspoons dry yeast

• ⅕ cup sugar

• pinch of salt

• ¼ cup poppy seeds

FOR POPPY SEED MILK

• ½ cup poppy seeds

• 1 liter filtered water (+ more for soaking)

• 1 teaspoon sweetener (or more to taste)

Kūčiukai

Lightly stir together water/plant-based milk with the sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5–10 minutes. Add the poppy seeds and salt. Mix them in.

Start adding the flour in thirds. Add ⅓, mix, add ⅓, mix, add the remaining flour and then start kneading the dough until it’s not sticky and forms a uniform ball. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 1–1½  hours.

When it’s done rising, knead it again. Make a ball and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each of them into little sausages (around 1 cm in diameter). Divide the rolls into small chunks (1–1½  cm) - like the tip of your finger length. Bake at 180°C for 10–12 minutes (if you want them more crunchy than soft, bake for 15–17 minutes).

Poppy Seed Milk

Cover the poppy seeds in water and let them soak for at least 2–3 hours, ideally overnight.

Drain and rinse the soaked poppy seeds.

Transfer them to a blender along with 1 liter of water and sweetener of choice. Blend until the liquid is white and smooth.

Optional: Strain the milk for a smoother texture. The leftover pulp can be used for baking.