Celebrate spring and warmer summer weather with these refreshing Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies. They bake up soft & chewy inside with a sugary crunch on the outside. If you love lemon, you’ll love these zesty cookies that just pop with lemon flavor!
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
This month’s theme is Mother’s Day cookies, celebrating our wonderful Moms and letting them know how much we appreciate them by making them a special treat. And what could be more special than using one of her favorite flavors. In my case, lemons! My Mom used to make the best desserts out of lemons like Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Pudding, Lemon Pound Cake, well the list goes on & on but you get the gist. So in her honor I decided to make a cookie that just pops with lemon flavor – lemon poppy seed cookies.
These cookies taste like sunshine in cookie form!
After perusing the internet for a good recipe, I chose a Martha Stewart recipe as that seemed to make the most use of fresh lemons and had the added punch of lemon zest on top. I know if you love lemon like my Mom and I do that you will love these cookies.
How to make Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
These cookies take just a little over 30 minutes start to finish. The hardest part, which isn’t hard at all, is making the lemon butter. Just zest a few lemons, squeeze them for their delicious juice then make a little lemon butter. (which, by the way, is great on seafood dishes too).
- Cream the lemon butter with sugar.
- Add eggs, extract, dry ingredients then sprinkle in the poppy seeds.
- Scoop the dough into a ball then roll in lemon zested sugar.
- Press down with a glass and bake away.
They turn out soft & chewy with a nice crunch on the outside from the sugar. (brb – I’ve got to go sneak another cookie it sounded so good!) 🙂
Don’t know what to make for Mother’s Day for a special treat? Well, whatever you decide, serve her up some sparkling spring mimosas and be sure to check out all the goodies from my fellow bloggers below. I know you’ll find something you like! In fact, you will probably be saying to yourself – which one should I make, I like them all!
Enjoy!
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup 2 sticks butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 3 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest, 2 to 3 lemons
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds + additional for garnish
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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In a small saucepan, bring the lemon juice to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) to lemon juice and stir until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
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In a large bowl, cream the remaining butter with 1 cup sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Continue to beat while adding in egg and lemon butter and whip another 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla and lemon extracts and 2 teaspoons of zest.
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In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to lemon butter mixture, mixing at low speed until combined. Stir in poppy seeds.
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On a flat plate, mix together remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the rest of the lemon zest. Pinch large fingerfuls of zest into sugar until well mixed. This will help flavor the sugar more thoroughly.
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Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop batter into 1-1/2? balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Set about 2? apart as they will spread slightly. Using a flat-bottomed glass, dip in lemon-sugar mixture then press cookie flat until it’s about 1/4? thick. Sprinkle with additional poppy seeds.
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Bake for 11-13 minutes or until just starting to brown around edges. Cool on cookie sheets for about 2-4 minutes then remove to wire racks to finish cooling. Store in airtight container.
They would be very pretty made as smaller cookies using a small cookie scoop where you would probably get 3 dozen. Adapted from recipe found on Martha Stewart.
Love lemon too? Satisfy your craving with our Lemon Chia Protein Bars or Healthy Lemon Smoothie.
Mother’s Day is coming! And what better cookies to make than those either in honor of or for our mothers?
You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:
- Classic Spritz Cookies from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (Baked) from Baking in Pyjamas
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies from 2 Cookin’ Mamas
- Crystallized Ginger Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Candied Flower Shortbread Cookies from Live… Bake… Love…
- Oats and Nuts Cookies from Basic N Delicious
- Coconut cookies from Flours and frostings
- Brown Sugar Maple Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries from The Spiced Life
- Mint Chip Chocolate Cookies from A Baker’s House
- Almond Crescents from A Shaggy Dough Story
- Rhubarb Sauce Cookies from Food Lust People Love
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