Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

I have a fondness for lemon poppy seed pound cake. The delicate citrus flavor of the lemon and the tiny nutty crunch of the poppy seeds go really well together. But pound cake is a pretty big project, and I rarely have the motivation to make it. Not to mention all the calories (there's a reason it's called pound cake!). So when I found a recipe for lemon poppy seed cookies I decided to give them a try. I'm so glad I did! They have the same great lemon flavor and poppy seed crunch, but in a light and crispy cookie. These are quite good, and I'm sure I'll make them again sometime!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract or zest (I'm not sure, but you might be able to substitute a tablespoon of lemon juice here, but you might not get the same lemony flavor)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch salt
1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and lemon extract and beat an additional 30 seconds.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly sift into the butter mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in poppy seeds.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto well-greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a minute or two on the cookie sheet to solidify, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

After my first batch, I realized that the cookies weren't spreading as much as I thought they would, and were rather rounded. Nothing wrong with that - they still tasted great! However, I wanted them to be a bit flatter (they look more delicate and get crispier that way) so I pressed a fork onto the cookies in the same criss-cross pattern you typically use for peanut butter cookies. They turned out beautifully.


Makes 3 dozen cookies
53 calories per cookie