Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies have a vibrant, intense lemon flavor with a subtle crackle and crunch from the poppy seeds. These bakery-style cookies are coated in a sweet lemon glaze that melts beautifully into the cookie.

Try our original sugar-cookie-esque Lemon Cookies here! Or check out our entire collection of cookie recipes.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies Recipe

The combination of lemon and poppys eeds is an all-time favorite for me. I’ve combined the two into Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Lemon Poppy Seed Bread, and even Lemon Poppy Seed Broccoli Salad! So, it was about time these two ingredients made their way into my favorite type of dessert — a cookie. And truly these cookies are unbeatable!

These sugar cookies scream summer — they’re fresh, vibrant, and tangy with just the right amount of lemon to make you pucker up. Each bite has a welcome subtle crunch from the poppy seeds and the sweet lemon glaze finishes everything off perfectly!

How To Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies…

…with perfect texture and a strong lemon flavor.

Getting the perfect amount of lemon without messing up the texture of the cookies can be tricky. Adding extra liquid (from lemon juice) into cookie dough will yield thin, crisp cookies–which isn’t what we are after with this recipe.

There are two secrets to a strong lemon flavor while keeping the cookies thick and chewy:

• Lemon zest. Unlike a lot of recipes that use both the zest and juice of lemons, we only use the zest here. The zest packs a huge punch of flavor without adding liquid. There is a lot of zest –and it’s all needed here! See “quick tip” below.
• Lemon extract. Not to be confused with lemon juice, lemon extract is a flavor enhancer (just like vanilla extract) that gives these cookies an intense citrusy lemon flavor. We use lemon extract to pack in as much lemon flavor as possible without messing up the consistency of these cookies (like lemon juice would). Lemon extract can usually be found near other baking extracts and spices in the grocery store; I recommend using a pure lemon extract.

How Do You Bake With Poppy Seeds?

While you can grind poppy seeds or soak them beforehand, neither is necessary for this cookie recipe. Simply pull the poppy seeds out of the spice container, measure, and mix them into the dough! No prep beforehand is required.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies Tips

• Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s really important that the butter and eggs are at room temperature to cream properly. Leave cold ingredients out for 45 minutes to an hour, or use some of these tricks to bring them to room temperature quicker.
• Slightly underbake the cookies. By keeping these cookies slightly underbaked, they will remain soft and chewy with a vibrant flavor (cookies lose flavor when overbaked). Visual cues for doneness: cookies should be set and the top no longer glossy or gooey looking.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely. Most cookies are the best right out of the oven, but these ones are not. We actually like these cookies best at room temperature or chilled!
• Use a food scale if you have one! Measuring flour can vary from person to person and is usually the culprit for cookies not working out. If you have a food scale, use that instead of measuring cups. 400 grams is perfect for this Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies recipe! Having a food scale is also helpful when measuring cookie dough balls to ensure they’re all the exact size (which makes them look more professional and bake evenly).

How Long Does It Take Cookies To Bake?

We’ve found these cookies are best around 12-16 minutes. 14-15 minutes is the sweet spot in my oven! 

While you may be tempted to make smaller cookies, the large size of these cookies is intentional. With smaller cookies, the texture is simply not the same.

The “sweet spot” for this recipe is exactly 1/4 cup (60 grams) of dough. Big, I know, but totally perfect! You’ll get thick, chewy, and perfectly tender cookies

More Fruit-Filled Desserts:

• Lemon Pie with a graham cracker crust
• Mini Fruit Tart with sugar cookie crusts
• Lemon Tart with a shortbread crust
• Cherry Scones with orange zest
• Fruit Dip with only four ingredients!

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5 from 2 votes

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

By Chelsea Lords

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies have a vibrant, intense lemon flavor with a subtle crackle and crunch from the poppyseeds. These bakery-style cookies are coated in a sweet lemon glaze that melts beautifully into the cookie.

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 -18 cookies

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup (16 tbsp) unsalted butter room temperature (do not melt!)
• ▢ 1-1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon zest (~3 large lemons) (Note 1)
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Note 2)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon extract (Note 3)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 3 cups white all-purpose flour (Note 4)
• ▢ 1/2 cup white sugar (or coarse sugar for a little more crunch!)

Glaze

• ▢ 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
• ▢ Tiny pinch of salt

Instructions 

• WET INGREDIENTS: Add 1 cup butter to the base of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and a hand mixer). Add in 1-1/2 cups white sugar and 3 tbsp lemon zest. Beat until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape sides and add in 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 tsp. lemon extract. Beat until incorporated.
• DRY INGREDIENTS: Scrape sides and add 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp. poppy seeds, and 1 tsp salt. Mix to combine. Finally, add in the flour and beat just until combined and no streaks of flour remain.
• CHILL: Cover dough tightly and chill in fridge for 20 minutes. Line a large plate with parchment paper.
• FORM COOKIE DOUGH BALLS: Portion out dough, measuring each ball to be exactly 1/4 cup (60 grams) of dough (I don't recommend bigger or smaller cookies — they work best in this size — Note 5) Repeat with remaining dough to get about 16-18 cookie dough balls. Once dough balls are rolled, roll each dough ball in 1/2 cup white (or coarse) sugar and then set them on the parchment-lined plate.
• CHILL AGAIN: Return to the fridge for 30 minutes or freeze for 20. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (162 degrees C). Line a large sheet pan with parchment or a Silpat liner.
• BAKE AND COOL: Add cookies to the prepared pan, only 6 at a time (they need a lot of space to spread!). Keep the rest of the dough balls in fridge/freezer while baking. Bake for 12-16 minutes or until cookies have puffed up and aren't gooey or wet looking on top. Bottoms/edges should be ever so slightly browning. Be careful to not overbake as you'll lose out on flavor and texture! Remove from oven, let stand on sheet pan for 5 mins before removing to a wire cooling rack to fully cool. Do not glaze until completely cooled. Repeat to bake all the cookies or save some for later (See Instruction #8)
• GLAZE: Meanwhile, combine all the glaze ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. Transfer to a small zip-top bag and seal without air. Cut the tip off the bag and drizzle glaze evenly over all of the cookies. If desired, add a touch of lemon zest to the top. Enjoy at room temperature or chilled.
• STORAGE: Instead of freezing baked cookies, freeze the dough! Drop the cookie dough balls on a large sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake: You can bake these lemon cookies straight from the freezer. There is no need to thaw, but you may need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Bake until the edges are lightly browned, and the center is still soft.

  The glaze doesn't freeze and thaw well, so I recommend making that fresh.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Lemon zest: The zest packs a huge flavor punch without adding liquid. There is a lot of zest –and it’s all needed here! When zesting the lemon, avoid the white pith of the lemon — this is very bitter. Using a microplane (like this one), zest only the very outside yellow part of the lemon for this recipe.

Note 2: Vanilla: I’ll often use vanilla bean paste (3/4 teaspoon) instead of extract for even more flavor! Totally optional if you prefer to use paste.

Note 3: Lemon extract: Not to be confused with lemon juice, lemon extract is a flavor enhancer (just like vanilla extract) that gives these cookies an intense citrusy lemon flavor. This extract can usually be found near other baking extracts and spices in the grocery store; I recommend using a pure lemon extract. Do NOT substitute with lemon juice — the two aren’t the same. 

Note 4: Flour: Use a food scale if you have one! Measuring flour can vary from person to person and is usually the culprit for cookies not working out. 400 grams is perfect for this recipe. (Having a food scale is also helpful when measuring cookie dough balls to ensure they’re all the exact size, which makes them look more professional and bake evenly.)

Note 5: Cookie size: Cookies work best at this size. While you may want smaller cookies, know that the texture is not the same. The “sweet spot” for this recipe is exactly 1/4 cup (60 grams) of dough. Big, I know, but totally perfect!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.3g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 11.5g | Cholesterol: 48.2mg | Sodium: 140.8mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 32.2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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