Greek Poppy Seed Strivers Recipes

HEALTHY GREEK YOGURT LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place muffin liners in a 12-count muffin tin or spray with non stick spray. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together coconut oil, honey, yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest until fully combined. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix thoroughly.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Gently fold in poppy seeds.
• Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in pan for ten minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
• Keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days or keep in the freezer (we just put them in gallon-sized freezer bags) for up to 30 days - makes a great on-the-go breakfast or snack!

DELICIOUS POPPY SEED DRESSING

Steps:

• Place olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt, onion, and Dijon mustard in a blender; blend until well mixed. Stir poppy seeds into olive oil mixture.

GREEK POPPY-SEED STRIVERS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Grease (or line) cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the extracts and gradually mix in the flour. Blend well.
• Add in the Poppy-seeds and seperate the dough into several inch-round spheres.
• Heres the fun part, you can mold these cookies into just about any shape, the dough is very pliable, I made some into triangles, circles, squares, even letters or animals-you choose.
• Once your cookie(s) possess the desired shape, you may lay them out on ypur pre-prepared pan and pop 'em in the oven(I would reccomend the middle rack).
• Let them bake for 10-12 minutes until a golden brown, be sure that they're nice and firm too- just not burnt.
• Let them cool slightly and enjoy.
• (P.S. if the bottoms are a little darker than the top, do not be alarmed for this is normal).

ONION POPPY SEED RING

Steps:

• Whisk together the yeast and 3/4 cup of bread flour. Sprinkle the yeast mixture over warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
• Combine the yeast mixture with 2 eggs, vegetable oil, sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large mixing bowl; stir well to combine. Stir in half of the remaining bread flour until no dry spots remain. Stir in the remaining bread flour, a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Line and generously grease a baking sheet. Set aside. Mix onion, poppy seeds, 1/4 teaspoon salt, all-purpose flour, and butter together in a bowl. Divide onion mixture into 2 equal portions. Set aside. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion into approximately 30x4 inch strips. Spoon the onion mixture down the center of each strip lengthwise. Begin pulling the edges of the dough up to wrap around the filling, pinching the edges to close securely.
• Arrange the strands side by side, seam side down. Beginning in the middle of each strand, braid the strands together by crisscrossing each side, making sure to keep the seam side down. Once both sides are braided, pinch the edges together to form a ring. Place the ring on the prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Allow ring to rise until tripled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Arrange the oven rack to the lowest position. Beat 1 egg and 1 pinch of salt together in a bowl. Brush the braided ring with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with additional poppy seeds, if desired.
• Bake in preheated oven until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, turning the pan around half way through so the ring browns evenly, 45 to 50 minutes.