Kūčiukai su Aguonų Pienu (Lithuanian Christmas Eve Biscuits with Poppy Milk)
Local name: Kūčiukai su aguonų pienu
In short: Small crisp bread biscuits soaked in sweet poppy seed milk, a meatless Lithuanian Christmas Eve tradition made with honey and ground poppy seeds. It takes about 1 h 25 min in total and makes 8 servings.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Resting
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 265 kcal
On Christmas Eve, Lithuanian families sit down to Kūčios, a meatless supper of twelve dishes, and kūčiukai with poppy milk is the traditional sweet. The little biscuits are baked twice until hard and dry, then softened in a bowl of cold poppy seed milk sweetened with honey. The result is nutty, a little earthy and surprisingly refreshing after a table of herring and mushrooms. Poppy seeds must be freshly ground to release their flavor.
Instructions
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the water and oil and knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and line two trays with parchment. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, roll each into a rope about 1.5 cm (1/2 in) thick and cut it into 2 cm (3/4 in) pieces. Arrange them on the trays.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until pale golden. Lower the oven to 120°C (250°F) and dry the biscuits for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until hard and crisp. Cool completely.
- For the poppy milk, put the poppy seeds in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes.
- Blend the seeds and their water for 3 minutes in a high-speed blender, until milky and the seeds are finely broken. Strain through a fine cloth for a smoother milk, if you like.
- Stir in the honey and salt and chill for 1 hour. Put a handful of biscuits in each bowl, pour over the cold poppy milk and let them soak for 5 minutes before eating.
Tips
- Grind the poppy seeds as fine as you can. A high-speed blender, or a coffee grinder used in small batches on the dry seeds first, gives the creamiest milk.
- The dried biscuits keep for 3 weeks in an airtight tin, so you can bake them well ahead of Christmas.
Questions and answers
Where can I buy poppy seeds for poppy milk?
Look for blue poppy seeds sold for baking in supermarkets and in Eastern European or Indian grocery stores. Buy a fresh jar, because old poppy seeds taste bitter.
Can I make poppy milk ahead of time?
Yes. Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and stir it before serving, because the seeds settle.
Can I use store-bought biscuits?
Small, plain, hard dry biscuits or rusks can stand in. Traditional kūčiukai are slightly sweet and soften as they soak.
How long does it take to make Kūčiukai su Aguonų Pienu (Lithuanian Christmas Eve Biscuits with Poppy Milk)?
About 1 h 25 min in total: 40 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking.
How many calories are in Kūčiukai su Aguonų Pienu (Lithuanian Christmas Eve Biscuits with Poppy Milk)?
About 265 kcal per serving, with 6 g of protein, 40 g of carbohydrates and 9 g of fat. These values are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 265 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 40 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Sodium | 90 mg |
Estimated values, calculated from the ingredients.
