Tangy Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies Recipes

CRISP LEMON COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced by half. Add 1 stick butter; stir until melted.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream remaining stick butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in egg and lemonbutter. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla and 2 teaspoons zest. Mix in flour mixture and poppy seeds.
• Stir together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons zest. Roll spoonfuls of dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; roll them in sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press each with the flat end of a glass dipped in sugar mixture until 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with seeds.
• Bake until just browned around bottom edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

LEMON POPPY SEED COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl, if using a hand mixer), combine sugar and salt. Zest both lemons over the sugar, then rub the zest into the sugar using your fingertips until moistened. (It will lightly stain the sugar yellow and release a strong lemony aroma.)
• Beat the butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping and scraping the bowl at least once in the process.
• In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk and limoncello. With the mixer on low speed, stream the mixture into the creamed butter. Stop and scrape the bowl with a spatula, then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 30 seconds.
• With the mixer off, add the flour mixture, then mix on low speed until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, working in the bowl, fold the dough over several times with your hands to ensure it is uniform.
• Fill a small bowl with the poppy seeds. Portion the dough into heaping tablespoons (about 25 grams each) and set them on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Round each piece of dough into a ball, then roll in the poppy seeds until completely coated.
• Transfer back to the baking sheet, setting at least 1 inch apart. Cover the surface with another sheet of parchment and press down with a second cookie sheet to evenly flatten cookies to about 1/2-inch thick.
• Chill in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees, and line baking sheets with parchment (or grease with butter). When cookies have chilled and oven is ready, transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart. (Keep remaining cookies in the freezer until ready to bake.)
• Working in batches, bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 8 minutes from front-to-back and bottom-to-top. Cookies will be just golden on the edges and puffy in the center but should no longer look wet.
• Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to cooling racks. Store cookies in a sealed container, and enjoy within 1 to 2 days. Bake remaining cookies, or wrap and freeze chilled cookie dough. Once firm, transfer cookie dough to a covered container or sealed bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. You can bake the cookies straight from the freezer.

LEMON-POPPY SEED COOKIES

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and 1 tablespoon lemon zest and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until just combined.
• Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are light golden and just set, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, the remaining 1 teaspoon lemon zest and enough lemon juice to make a spreadable glaze. Spread on the cookies; sprinkle with nonpareils and let set, about 20 minutes.

LEMON-POPPY SEED SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• FOR COOKIES:
• Mix flour, salt and baking powder in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in egg, then poppy seeds, lemon peel and extracts. Mix in dry ingredients in 3 additions. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets. Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 21/2-inch-diameter fluted cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Gather scraps; reroll and cut out more cookies. Chill cookies on baking sheets 15 minutes.
• Bake cookies until edges just begin to color, about 18 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks; cool completely. Repeat rolling, cutting and baking with remaining dough. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 1 month.)
• FOR FILLING:
• Beat all ingredients in large bowl until light and fluffy. Spread 2 teaspoons filling over bottom of 1 cookie. Press second cookie, bottom side down, onto filling. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)