Lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies are my new holiday favourite! For the last few years, these stamped brown sugar shortbread cookies have claimed the top spot for my whole family, with my snickerdoodles without cream of tartar as a close second. This year however, I’m 99% sure this lemon poppy seed cookie recipe has won my holiday heart!
Don’t be intimidated by the stamp impression on top of the cookies. I just happen to have a few thrifted ceramic cookie stamps in my baking cupboard and I like to use them whenever I can. You can easily use the bottom of a drinking glass, or even a fork, to flatten the cookie dough balls! Trust me, making lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies is incredibly simple.
For this recipe I rolled the cookie dough into balls and stamped them flat. Another option is to roll the cookie dough into a slice and bake log shape like these chocolate chip sugar cookies. The slice and bake option is a terrific time saver, especially during the holidays!
Ingredients
Step-By-Step Instructions
Preheat the oven 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.
In another larger bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
You can use a hand mixer, stand mixer, or go the traditional route and use elbow-grease and a wooden spoon. Choose whichever tool works for you!
Add the flour mixture to the butter and mix everything together until the dough starts to clump together.
It will take a little while for the dough to start to come together, about 4 to 5 minutes, but I promise you it will! After a minute or two of mixing it will look like the picture below.
You can stop mixing when the cookie dough forms larger clumps, about the size of popped popcorn, like this picture below.
Gather the cookie dough together in the bowl with your hands.
Place the cookie dough on a work surface and divide it into 12 equal portions. Sprinkle some sugar onto a small plate. With your hands, roll each cookie dough portion into a smooth ball.
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 as you swirl the plate, each receiving an all-over coating of sugar.
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. The edges of the cookies should crack as you flatten the balls, and is an indication of a correct butter to flour ratio.
Place the stamped 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 and cool.
Notes & Tips
To make lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies, you can use a hand mixer, stand mixer, or go the traditional route and use elbow-grease and a wooden spoon. Choose whichever tool works for you!
Add ½ teaspoon of vanilla or lemon extract to the butter and sugar before mixing if you like.
If you are curious about using cookie stamps, I talk about them a bit more here.
You can divide the cookie dough into 24 smaller portions rather than 12 if you like, however the baking time will change. Just watch for light golden edges and you should be good.
Rolling the dough balls in sugar is completely optional. If you don’t want the extra sugar, simply sprinkle a bit of flour on each dough ball, or dip your stamp / the bottom of your glass in flour, before flattening the lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies.
The edges of the cookies should crack as you stamp / flatten the dough balls. The cracking is an indication of a correct butter-to-flour ratio.
Skip the cookie stamp and instead use a flat-bottomed drinking glass to flatten the lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies. When fully cooled, top them with this luscious whipped cream cheese frosting.
Lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
To freeze, gently place the fully-cooled cookies in a sealed zip-top plastic bag in the freezer for up to two months.
Substitutions
Because this recipe is pretty basic there aren’t a whole lot of substitutions you can make. That being said, orange zest in place of lemon would be dreamy.
Use a high-quality dairy-free butter to make these cookies both dairy-free and vegan.
Make lemon poppy see shortbreads as slice and bake cookies! Simply 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.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Lavender Sugar Cookies With Earl Grey Glaze
Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Chocolate Eggnog Cookies
Printable Recipe Card
Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- 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 for sugar
- ceramic cookie stamp or drinking glass optional
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 lemon, zested
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons, 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.
- 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.
- 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 g 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.
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