Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies
The secret to super lemony flavor in my lemon poppy seed cookies is LEMON SUGAR! I'll show you how to make this easy lemon flavor booster.
Servings: 25 cookies
Equipment
- food processor
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- zest of 1 lemon, peeled with a vegetable peeler*
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup salted butter** at room temperature, if you use unsalted butter, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dough.
- 2 cups all purpose flour***
- 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Put the lemon zest and the sugar into your food processor and process until the zest has been completely incorporated into the sugar and you've got a fragrant pale yellow sugar with the moist consistency of brown sugar. Scrape down the sides and bottom edges of the bowl.
- Note: because I'm already using the processor for the sugar, I just complete the cookie dough right in the same machine. You can also do it in a bowl by hand, if you prefer. Add the softened butter to the bowl and process until well combined with the lemon sugar. You may need to pulse/process the machine, and scrape down the sides and corners of the bowl to get it evenly combined.
- Add the flour and poppy seeds to the bowl and pulse/process briefly until a crumbly dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, scraping down the sides and bottom edges of the bowl carefully. Bring together into a soft dough with your hands (flour them if necessary) and pat into a flat disk. Note: your dough should not be dry and crumbly at this point, it should be soft and pliable, with no dry flour left.
- Wrap with plastic wrap and smooth out the surface and sides of the dough. Refrigerate for an hour or so to firm up.
- Unwrap the dough and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Use a 2" cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place the cookies on a tray and pop back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange cookies 2 inches apart on your baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. They will still be pale when done. Let cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a rack to cool completely. I like to bake one tray at a time for even baking.
Notes
*Wiggle your peeler back and forth to remove strips of lemon peel with as little of the bitter white pith as possible. See post for photos and details.
**For a vegan cookie use a firm vegan butter.
***For gluten free use a gluten free baking mix that contains xanthan gum.
Nutrition
Calories: 121 kcal · Carbohydrates: 12 g · Protein: 1 g · Fat: 8 g · Saturated Fat: 5 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g · Trans Fat: 0.3 g · Cholesterol: 20 mg · Sodium: 59 mg · Potassium: 19 mg · Fiber: 0.4 g · Sugar: 4 g · Vitamin A: 227 IU · Vitamin C: 0.3 mg · Calcium: 14 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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