Have you ever wondered why Christmas baking makes such heavy use of spices? The answer is surprisingly simple: For centuries spices were one of the world’s most valued commodities – sometimes costlier than gold – so using them lavishly in holiday baking was a way of demonstrating religious devotion. For the less high-minded, it was also a way to demonstrate worldly wealth. Other ingredients followed the same sort of logic, including poppy seeds, which we use here for this very old recipe for Poppy Seed Cookies.
German Poppy Seed Cookies (Mohn)
