Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Amethyst · January 26, 2026, 10:29pm

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Waiting Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: 10 cookies

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

150 g (⅔ cups) Unsalted butter, room temperature
150 g (¾ cups) Granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 Egg room temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
190 g (1½ cups) All-purpose flour
30 g (⅓ cups) Poppy seed
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking soda

For the Lemon glaze:

90 g (¾ cups) Powdered sugar
1 tablespoon Lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Directions:

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies:

Zest 1 large organic lemon and massage the zest into the granulated sugar.

With an electric hand mixer, cream room temperature butter with the lemon sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

Mix in the egg, lemon juice, and vanilla, just until combined.

Mix the flour, poppy seed, salt, and baking soda together, then add the mixture to the wet ingredients. Fold them together with the help of a rubber spatula.

Prepare 2 baking pans with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into 10 equal balls (using a digital scale is handy or use an ice cream scooper) and place them onto the parchment paper, leaving enough space between them to be able to spread. I recommend baking max 5 cookies per baking sheet. Chill them for an hour.

Pre-heat oven to 175 C / 347°F (no fan).

After one hour of chilling time, bake the cookies for 15 minutes.

Let the lemon cookies rest for a few minutes, then carefully remove them from the parchment and let them cool on a cooling rack. The cookies will further set as they cool.

Lemon glaze:

Mix the freshly squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar together. The glaze should not be too runny or too thick, so adjust the consistency as necessary by either adding more powdered sugar or more juice.

Apply the glaze on top of the lemon poppy seed cookies with the help of a piping bag or spoon. Then sprinkle the cookies with some lemon zest and poppy seeds.

Store the cookies at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes:

Ingredient Notes:

Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.

Use room temperature ingredients, e.g., egg and butter.

Technique Notes:

Make sure you read my Expert Tips section to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details and science behind baking.

Do not overmix the dough when adding the dry ingredients. Only fold it until thoroughly combined.

Respect the chilling time in the cookie recipe. Do not skip it, or the cookies might end up very flat.

Try not to overbake your lemon cookies if you prefer them fudgy and gooey.

For the glaze, if it is too thick, add more lemon juice. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Expert Tips For Making Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies:

For the best flavor, use only freshly squeezed lemon juice and the highest-quality vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste). Avoid using lemon extract, which overpowers and gives a false lemon flavor.
When combining the dry ingredients, sift the flour and baking soda first to avoid unwanted lumps in the batter.
Pay close attention to when to switch from an electric hand mixer to a rubber spatula. Using a mixer to combine the wet and dry ingredients can result in overmixing and excessive gluten development, resulting in dry, cakey cookies.
Never skip preheating your oven. Preheating ensures the correct oven temperature throughout baking, giving you the best results within the given time-frame.
If you prefer super gooey over crispy lemon poppy seed cookies, you can reduce the baking time to slightly underbake them. ]
If the cookies spread too much during baking, use a large cookie cutter when they come out of the oven to apply circular movements and tighten the shape back into a perfectly round shape.

Ingredient Substitutions:

For gluten-free cookies, replace all-purpose flour with a suitable gluten-free alternative, such as almond flour. Refer to my Flour Guide for more alternatives and their best uses in baking.
To make your lemon poppy seed cookies vegan, substitute regular butter with a dairy-free version and use an Egg Replacement.

While it is possible to modify your lemon poppy seed cookie ingredients to make them gluten-free, vegan, or dairy-free, other ingredient adjustments might be necessary to maintain the ideal balance of flavors and textures.

Nutritional Facts:

Recipe courtesy of Spatula Desserts.com

BryWisteria · February 6, 2026, 1:35pm

A post was merged into an existing topic: Recipe Collections: Delicious Desserts