Celebrate spring and the 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!
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Lemon Desserts and Sweets
These zesty lemon cookies with poppy seeds are the perfect cookie for any occasion! They're easy to make and bake up with a wonderful soft cake-like texture. These cookies are bursting with tart, refreshing lemon flavor, making them the perfect way to say hello to spring and summer.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade - and so much more! You can make the best lemon desserts, muffins, and other sweets like Lemon Chiffon Cake, Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake, and Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.
Why You'll Love Lemon Cookies with Poppy Seeds
Summer treat - These cookies taste like sunshine in cookie form!
Light & refreshing - fresh lemon juice and zest make these cookies tangy and bright for a summer treat.
Soft & crunchy - the perfect combination of soft cookies and crunchy poppy seeds.
Easy to make - simple ingredients & less than 30 minutes is all it takes
Ingredients
- Lemons
- Poppy Seeds
- Butter
- White Granulated Sugar
- Egg
- Lemon extract
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
These cookies take less than 30 minutes from 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).
- Place ½ cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar in a large mixing bowl.
- Cream well for 3 minutes.
- Melt ½ cup butter and lemon juice together in a microwave-safe bowl or a small saucepan.
- Add lemon butter and egg to creamed mixture.
- Beat for another 3 minutes.
- Add the extracts and lemon zest and beat well.
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the lemon batter.
- Mix at a low speed until combined.
- Sprinkle in the poppy seeds.
- Stir the dough to evenly distribute the poppy seeds.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto a nongreased cookie sheet.
- Make a lemon sugar by placing ¼ cup sugar and a teaspoon of lemon zest on a plate and pinch it together. Dip a flat-bottomed glass into the sugar.
- Use it to lightly press down the cookies then sprinkle with additional poppy seeds.
- Bake at 375°F for 11 minutes or until the outer edges just start to turn brown.
Soft & chewy with the nutty flavor of poppy seeds and a sweet crunchy bite on the outside from lemon sugar, these are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Make these bright, refreshing cookies all summer long for the perfect snack. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Have all ingredients at room temperature before making the cookies.
- Zest lemons before juicing for the easiest preparation.
- Use Meyer lemons if available. They are sweeter than regular lemons.
- Do not overbake the cookies. You want them to be soft and chewy.
2CM Tip: For extra lemony flavor, use your fingers to rub lemon zest into sugar until it looks like wet sand. This releases lemon oil from the zest and gives it a more intense lemon flavor.
Recipe Variations
Iced Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies - Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. You may need to add more lemon juice until it is the right consistency for drizzling. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
Lemon Poppy Seed Sandwich Cookies - Make lemon buttercream frosting by mixing ½ cup of room temperature butter with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt. Spread the frosting on the bottom half of the cookies and top them with the remaining cookies.
Make Ahead Cookie Dough
After preparing the dough, scoop it onto a baking sheet, press with lemon sugar then freeze it instead of baking. Once frozen, transfer the frozen dough to a plastic freezer bag.
You can bake the frozen dough by adding just a couple of minutes to the baking time.
How to Store
After the cookies have cooled, place them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
You can freeze the cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container or plastic freezer bag for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Lemon Recipes
Find more spring and summer desserts and cookie recipes on 2CM!
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Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) divided
- 1 ¼ cups sugar divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 3 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest, about 2 lemons
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds + additional for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan, melt lemon juice and 1 stick, ½ cup, of butter. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the remaining stick of butter with 1 cup sugar until light, about 3 minutes.
- Continue to beat while adding in egg and lemon butter. Whip for 3 minutes more.
- Mix in vanilla and lemon extracts and 2 teaspoons of zest.
- 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.
- On a flat plate, mix together ¼ cup sugar with 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest. Pinch large fingerfuls of zest into the sugar until well mixed. This will help flavor the sugar more thoroughly.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place them about 2" apart as they will spread slightly.
- Using a flat-bottomed glass, dip it into the lemon-sugar mixture then press it lightly onto the top of the cookies, flattening slightly. Sprinkle with additional poppy seeds.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
This post has been updated with an easier recipe and new photos. It was first published on April 19, 2016.
wilhelmina says
These cookies really are like a little bite of sunshine! So yummy!
Linda Warren says
Thanks! It's a great way to usher in spring!
Renee Goerger says
Rolling these in the lemon sugar before baking really give these cookies an extra punch of flavor. Love them!
Linda Warren says
So glad you liked them. I love that extra pop of lemon flavor too!
Felice says
I love lemon anything so these cookies would make me very happy. I haven't baked much with poppy seeds so this seems like the perfect recipe to break that habit.
Linda Warren says
If you're a lemon lover Felice you will love this recipe! I hadn't baked with poppy seeds in a while either but they are always a great addition.(and they did make the cookies look so much prettier :-))
GiGi Eats Celebrities says
LOL! I came to your latest post and... Then I walked into the kitchen to make my favorite lemon poppy seed cookies - BAH HA HA HA!!! SO FRIGGIN' GOOD! Thank you for inspiring me!
Linda Warren says
Always happy to inspire! Bet yours were delish!
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
I luuurve lemon cookies! This whole post looks like springtime with the gorgeous flowers. Can't wait to try these!
Linda Warren says
Thanks Karen! These cookies will definitely make it feel like spring. Love to know what you think if you try them.
Laura T (@TheSpicedLife) says
These look SO GOOD (another lemon fiend here). Actually my mom is too, so maybe I can make them for her to make up for making her favorite cookie when she was not around lol. And you get brownie points for the fact that they are not rolled or sliced--they are so perfectly and evenly thin I though for sure you did!
Linda Warren says
Glad to find another lemon fiend. 🙂 You should definitely make them for your Mom. She'll love them!
Linda Warren says
Ah, a girl after my own heart! I love lemons and these cookies bring out their tart and bright flavors so well.
abakershouse says
I really like that trick of pushing the cookies down with the bottom of a glass. I love when no fancy equipment is needed to make something special like this cookie.
Linda Warren says
I know what you mean! My kitchen is so small that I just can't fit too many gadgets so I try to make do with what I have on hand. Sometimes it works out being the best way.
Mayuri Patel says
lovely cookies. Have been wanting to bake the combination of poppy seeds and lemon for such a long time.
Linda Warren says
If you love lemon Mayuri you will love these! Hope you get to bake some up soon.
akshatha says
Sunshine in a cookie indeed ! The cookies look bright and refreshing!
Linda Warren says
They certainly seemed to make our day a little brighter with these for a treat!
ffayerod says
I can just smell and taste these cookies now...love, love, love lemon and poppy seed!
Linda Warren says
They did smell wonderful when cooking - it was hard to wait until they cooled to try them (ahem, well actually they taste good warm too!) 🙂