LEMON POPPY SEED COOKIES
A MUFFIN IN COOKIE FORM - WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?
22 cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder, alternatively use 2 tsps cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
1/3 cup poppy seeds
The Blistered Peppers Take:
Yes, I know baking is science and precision counts but BP is all about making your life easy. You shouldn’t read my recipes and be frustrated you have to make another trip to the grocery store. So in true BP fashion… this recipe has some room for adjustments.
You can make the cookies without the almond extract, if you don’t have it in your pantry. While it helps highlight that lemon-y flavor, you can simply add in a touch more of lemon zest and/or juice. Similarly, baking powder consists of cream of tartar, so depending on what you have on hand you can either use baking soda and cream of tartar OR baking soda and baking powder!
These cookies are seriously so delicious and the puffed up texture truly reminds me of a lemon poppy seed muffin. Cannot recommend enough!
Recipe:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda & powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine the sugar and salt. Add in the lemon zest and use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar. The zest should be well incorporated and start to smell very flagrant.
Using an electric mixer, add the butter into the lemon sugar until light and fluffy - approximately 3-4 minutes.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the egg and additional egg yolk. Add the lemon juice, almond & vanilla extract, and mix until combined.
Add the egg mixture into the butter mixture until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture. Be careful not to overmix the dough - option to turn off the mixer after 30ish seconds and finish the dough by hand, folding it over a few times.
Poppy seeds: there are two ways to add the seeds. One - which is how I do it - is to use a cookie scoop, and then coat each individual cookie by rolling it in the seeds. The alternative way is to mix the seeds into the batter; if you’re going with this option, only use 2-3 tablespoons of poppy seeds; then you can use the cookie scoop to create equally sized cookies.
Preheat the oven to 375. In the meantime, cool the prepped cookies in the fridge or freezer for about 15-20 minutes.
Cookies have a lot of butter in them and while the baking powder acts as a leveaning agent, if you cool the cookies before baking them, you can slow down the process of the butter melting.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be golden in color and puffed up a bit in center. Allow to cool and enjoy!
