Poppy Seed Filling

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Poppy seed filling is sweet and smooth – like a jam made with poppy seeds. Once you have it on hand, you can use as filling for poppy seed hamantashen, kolache, or thumbprint cookies, or a spread on toast or crackers.

Cookies with poppy seed filling

What Do You Need to Make Poppy Seed Filling?

You want to make sure that the filling is smooth, like a paste, and not gritty or crunchy. To get it to that consistency, you’ll need a powerful blender or ground poppy seeds.

You can buy ground poppy seeds [paid link] online, but it’s very hard to find in stores.

Your best bet will probably be to buy regular poppy seeds and to grind them yourself.

How to Make Ground Poppy Seeds

Ground poppy seeds should have a fine texture. They shouldn’t feel gritty when you run your hands through them.

poppy mill

Image Source: Poppy mill by Jupiter via Happy Mills

There are several ways to grind your own poppy seeds:

  • Use a poppy seed grinder – The upside is that there is no better tool for the job. The downside is that it is an expensive purchase which doesn’t have much application unless you are always making desserts with poppy seeds or other small seeds.
  • Use a coffee/spice grinder – I’ve heard people swear by this method, but when I tried it, I couldn’t get the poppy seeds to be fine enough. If you have a very powerful coffee grinder, this may work for you.
  • Blender – If you have a powerful blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec, this will be your best choice. You can grind poppy seeds in a just a few seconds in the blender. In this particular recipe, you can use whole poppy seeds and put everything into the blender at the end.
poppies going through a poppy grinder

Image Source: Poppy mill by Jupiter via Happy Mills

 

How to Make Poppy Seed Filling

Bring milk to a simmer and add whole poppy seeds, sugar, and honey.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently until the poppy seeds absorb the milk. As they absorb the milk, they will turn into a thick paste.

Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Place the whole mixture into a powerful blender and blend until smooth.

Refrigerate for about 20 minutes before using to let the filling firm up.

The filling lasts in the refrigerator for up three weeks. You can also freeze it for several months.

Other Filling Ideas

Usually when I am using poppy seed filling in hamantashen or in other cookies, I like to also use other fillings to make a nice assortment. Some other filling ideas are:

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Lemon Poppy Seed Sandwich Cookies
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5 from 1 vote

Poppy Seed Filling

Poppy seed filling is sweet and smooth - like a jam made with poppy seeds. Use it in sandwich cookies, poppy seed hamantashen, kolache, and more!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Jewish
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 24
Calories 75kcal
Author Stefani

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups poppy seeds
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • In a medium-sized pot on low heat, bring milk to a simmer and add poppy seeds, sugar, and honey.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently until the poppy seeds absorb the milk and you have a thick paste.
  • Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
  • Place the whole mixture in the blender and blend until smooth.
  • Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to let the filling firm up.

Notes

If you are able to find ground poppy seeds or have a poppy seed grinder and can grind your own, feel free to substitute them for the whole poppy seeds. You will need 5 1/4 ounces, or 150 grams. You can probably also skip the blender step at the end if the resulting paste is smooth enough.
Poppy seeds go rancid really quickly - they have a very high oil content. If you have any extra poppy seeds from this project, be sure to store them in the freezer.

Nutrition

Calories: 75kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 6mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 46IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 1mg
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