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Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies

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Lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies are pale with golden edges. They're delicate and sandy, with subtle lemon flavour and poppy seed crunch!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 26 minutes
Total Time: 41 minutes
A small platter of lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies surrounded by evergreen branches and a few pine cones.

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!

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A plate of five lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies surrounded by evergreen branches.

Ingredients

Ingredients to make lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies.

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!

A bowl of light and fluffy beaten butter.

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.

A hand mixer being used to mix cookie dough in a glass bowl.

You can stop mixing when the cookie dough forms larger clumps, about the size of popped popcorn, like this picture below.

A bowl of cookie dough.

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.

Cookie dough balls on plate of sugar after being rolled in the 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.

Unbaked cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

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.

Overhead image of baked lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

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.

Angled shot of a tray of baked lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies.

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.

A small oval platter of lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies surrounded by evergreen branches.

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Printable Recipe Card

A small oval platter of lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies surrounded by evergreen branches.

Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies

Author: Kelly Neil
Lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies are pale with golden edges. They're delicate and sandy, with subtle lemon flavour and poppy seed crunch!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 26 minutes
Total Time 41 minutes
Course Cookies & Bars
Cuisine European / Canadian
Servings 12 servings
Calories 145 kcal

Special 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
  • Cookie stamp or drinking glass optional
Need Metric Measurements?Use the button options below to toggle between US cups and Metric grams.

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.

Recipe Notes

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 don’t own cookie stamps, I talk about them a bit more here in this stamped brown sugar shortbread post.
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 lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies is a pretty basic recipe with very few ingredients, there aren’t a whole lot of substitutions you can make. That being said, orange zest in place of lemon zest would be dreamy.
Use a high-quality dairy-free butter to make vegan lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies.
Another shaping option is to 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 33gCalories: 145kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 121mgPotassium: 35mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 252IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Let me know on Instagram @kellyneildotcom or tag #kellyneil!

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