Description
These soft & buttery lemon poppyseed cookies require no chill time and are finished off with a sweet lemon glaze! Bake for 6 minutes for nice soft cookies, or bake a couple minutes more for satisfyingly crisp, golden-brown edges.
Adapted from one of my favorite recipes in “The Cookie Collection” by Brian Hart Hoffman (Pg. 90, Orange Butter Cookes).
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (227g)
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar (240g)
- 1 large egg (50g)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (10g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (10g)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (3g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 tablespoons poppyseeds (17g)
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (210g before sifting)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, strained (30g)
- 1 tablespoon whole milk (10g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
- Poppyseeds (for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add egg, zest, and vanilla, beating until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until a dough forms. With the mixer still on low speed, add your poppyseeds one tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated.
- Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop, scoop dough, and roll into balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar, coating completely. Place on prepared pans. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or drinking glass, gently press down to flatten dough balls until about 1/2 inch or so high. Cookies should be 2 inches apart on pans.
- Bake until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- Once your cookies have cooled completely, whisk together all of your glaze ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Glaze needs to be thick (see notes below). You can either dip your cookies halfway into the glaze and immediately sprinkle the glaze half with extra poppyseeds or use the straight edge method like I did (see notes for how to do this).
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
Notes
- Your glaze needs to be thick in order for the straight line coating to work properly. Add powdered sugar by the tablespoon if not, but the above measurements should give you the right consistency.
- Straight Edge Glaze Method:
- Place a bench scraper (any sturdy straight edge will work) in the middle of your cookies like you’re going to cut them in half and spoon the glaze over one half, dragging your bench scraper towards the glaze once finished spooning the glaze to keep the line clean. Immediately sprinkle the glazed half with extra poppyseeds.
- Make sure to use the same lemons you zested for the lemon juice—fresh lemon juice is always going to taste better than store-bought! Also be sure to zest the lemons as close to adding to the recipe as possible for maximum potency, trust me.
