A very simple shortbread cookie, these lemon poppy seed cookies are filled with lemon zest and poppy seeds in a 4-ingredient cookie base. All you need is butter, sugar, flour, salt, a lemon, and poppy seeds. These are melt in your mouth, delicate and short cookies.
As pictured, these are a stamped cookie – you can read more about this method over at Kelly's recipe for brown sugar shortbread cookies. You don't need to use a special cookie stamp, though. Press with a glass or do slice and bake if preferred. We outline all three methods below.
Why You'll Love Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- It's the perfect combination of light and zesty lemon flavour with poppy seed crunch
- The dough freezes well and so do the baked cookies
- They've got a delicious sandy texture like all the best shortbread does
- No chill time, so you can mix and bake within minutes
- You don't need a mixer – the cookies can be made the old-fashioned way, with a wooden spoon and elbow grease!
Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients for this recipe, so choose good-quality, especially for the butter.
- Butter: this should be salted butter. If you only have unsalted, double the amount of added salt.
- Flour: all-purpose plain white flour. We have not tested these cookies with alternatives like whole wheat, which absorbs more moisture.
- Lemon zest: since you're using the zest, try to find an organic, unwaxed lemon to use here and wash it well with warm water.
- Add-ins: add ½ teaspoon of vanilla or lemon extract to the butter and sugar before mixing if you like.
- Make it vegan: use a good vegan butter alternative that comes in stick or block form (not spreadable margarine) and chill the dough for an hour before baking.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Step by Step Photos
Step 1: cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
Step 2: add the dry ingredients and mix until combined and clumpy looking.
Step 3: shape the dough into balls and roll in sugar.
Step 4: stamp or flatten the cookies and bake.
Top Tips
- Chill if needed: if your butter was very soft (if your home is warm) it's best to chill the dough balls or flattened cookies for at least half an hour before baking. If you are stamping and the cookies aren't keeping the imprint, the butter has softened too much and the dough needs to be chilled.
- Look for the crack: the edges of the cookies should crack as you stamp or flatten the dough balls. The cracking is an indication of a correct butter-to-flour ratio.
- Do slice and bake: another shaping option is to roll the cookie dough into a log-shape. Wrap the log in wax paper and store it in the fridge or freezer. To bake, simply slice ¼ inch (6 mm) thick discs from the log, and bake them as per the recipe directions.
- Transfer immediately: if you leave the cookies on the baking sheet after taking it out of the oven, they'll cook more as the sheet cools and you'll end up with over-baked cookies.
How to Store
Storage: keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to one week.
Freezing: place the fully cooled cookies into an airtight container and freeze for up to two months. For best results, freeze the same day the cookies are baked.
Freeze before baking: place the lined baking sheet with the flattened cookies into the freezer, and once the unbaked cookies are frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container. Keep in the freezer for up to one month. Bake from frozen, adding a minute or two onto the baking time.
More Lemon Recipes
If you make these Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies or any other cookie recipes on the Baked Collective, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more baking, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 Medium-large mixing bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Large mixing bowl if not using stand mixer
- Electric hand mixer if not using stand mixer
- Stand mixer if not using hand mixer
- Shallow bowl
- Cookie stamp or drinking glass optional
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large lemon, zested, about 3 tablespoons zest
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- ¼ cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, salt, and lemon zest. Set aside.1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 large lemon
- In a second, larger bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. If you don't have an electric mixer, you can cream this with a wooden spoon.½ cup plus 2 tablespoons salted butter, ¼ cup sugar
- Use a fine mesh sieve to sift the flour into the butter. Mix everything together on low until the dough starts to clump together. It may take a little while for the dough but I promise you it will! You can stop mixing when the cookie dough forms larger clumps, about the size of popped popcorn.
- Gather the cookie dough together in the bowl with your hands and place it on a work surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (approximately 33 grams each).
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar on a small plate. Roll each cookie dough portion into a smooth ball between your hands. Place the dough balls, a few at a time, on the plate of sugar. Swirl the plate in gentle circles. The balls will roll around and become sugar coated as you swirl the plate.
- Space the 12 cookie dough balls evenly apart on the prepared baking sheet. Using a ceramic cookie stamp, or the bottom of a drinking glass, gently press and flatten the top of each dough ball to about 2 ½ inches (6 ½ cm) in diameter and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
- Place the cookies in the preheated oven and bake them for 26 to 28 minutes, or until the tops are pale and the edges are light gold. Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately transfer them from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.
- Keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week or freeze for up to two months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided as a courtesy. For precise nutritional data, please calculate it independently using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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