- 70
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
- 1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3 cups (420g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds + extra for topping
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 175ºC/350ºF; line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a small saucepan, bring lemon juice to a simmer and let reduce by half. Once it has reduced add ½ cup of butter (113g) and let melt, remove from heat and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In another bowl whisk remaining ½ cup of butter (113g) and 1 cup of sugar (200g) together until smooth and creamy. Beat in egg and melted lemon-butter mixture, beat on medium-high with an electric mixer for 3 minutes, or until very light and pale in color. Mix in vanilla, poppy seeds and 3 teaspoons of lemon zest; once combined, add dry ingredients and mix on low until smooth, you may need to stir in the last 1/3 to 2/3 of a cup by hand. Blend until smooth.
In a plate, combine the remaining ¼ cup of sugar (50g) with 1 teaspoon of lemon zest – rub the sugar and zest between your fingertips to obtain a lemony sugar. Roll leveled ½ tablespoons of dough into small balls and place on a prepared cookie sheet, 5cm (2in) apart. Using a very slight moist glass, dip the bottom into sugar mixture and flatten cookies, follow by sprinkling a few poppy seeds and a pinch of the sugar+zest mix over the top of each cookie.
Bake for 11-12 minutes (mine needed 14) or until perfectly golden around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack.