Let’s get right to it! Sharing another flavorful twist on my cut sugar cookie – lemon poppy seed! They’re definitely my new favorite cookie to snack on. Loving the lemony flavor and the textured crunch of the poppy seeds.
They hold their shape well and the added poppy seed visual was nice I thought, especially for these cactus cookies.
I’ll be sharing the how-to video on the cactus cookies as soon as I can, hopefully just a few days or less. (Update; here is the tutorial). If you’d like to make these heart cookies, here is the heart cookie cutter set I used.
Add more or less extract to heighten or decrease the lemon flavor and if you haven’t already, please check out my tips on preventing cookies from spreading and how thick or thin to roll cookie dough. If you’d like to decorate your cookies with royal icing, here is my recipe.
Hope you love making and eating these too! If you try them please let me know your feedback in the comment section.
Happy baking!
xo,
Marian
Lemon Poppy Seed Cut Out Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low speed, using the paddle attachment. Mix until thoroughly incorporated - for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more. Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you'd like a light and fluffy cookie, that's ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you'd like the cookie to hold its shape.
- Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again. Add lemon and vanilla extract. Stir. Add poppy seeds and mix to incorporate.
- Sift your dry ingredients together. (Flour and salt). Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl. Place a large tea towel between the edge of the bowl and the electric mixer so that the flour won't escape. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Remove the tea towels and observe the dough mixing; when the dough clumps around the paddle attachment and peels away from the sides of the mixer, it is ready. You can also test the dough by pinching it between your thumb and index finger. If it’s soft but not sticky, it’s just right. If it’s too sticky when you pinch it between your fingers, add flour, ¼ cup at a time, and mix until you’re happy with the texture. There are various reasons why a dough can be too dry or too sticky, ranging from humidity in the environment, to what kind of flour you use, the fat content of the butter etc., however, there are ways to fix the issues if you run into them. Already mentioned, add flour if your dough is too sticky, and if it’s too dry, make sure you’ve mixed it as best as you can first, and if it’s still too dry, add a little water or milk until your dough comes together.
- Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge or freezer for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and repeat. If your dough gets too soft to work with, place in the fridge or freezer periodically to firm up again.
- Once all cut out, put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F or 176°C.
- Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
- Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate if you like.
Oh Marian,
I can’t wait to see the Cactus Video!!
I love those, they look so so so adorable. And they must taste amazing, anything baked with lemon is a win-win 🙂
Thank you for the recipe!
God bless you,
niner <3 🙂
Hi Niner,
Thanks so much! I feel the same way about lemon… nice and fresh, especially for the upcoming season. 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Could almond flavor be substituted for the lemon?
Costco used to make almond poppy seed muffins years ago and don’t make them any more. I miss them. I haven’t been able to find a recipe to replicate them either.
Hi Judy,
I never tried those Costco muffins, but they sound great! And yes, absolutely, you can substitute almond extract for the lemon extract. Play around with the amount to make it have a stronger or milder flavour. Have fun baking and eating!
Dorie Greenspan has an amazing lemon poppy seed muffin recipe.
Marian, these look terrific!! I love lemon, have printed your recipe and can’t wait to give these a try.
Thank you so much!!
Thanks Teresa! Let me know your feedback if you get a chance! 🙂
These look yummy. Can you use lemon juice instead of extract?
Hi Whitney,
I haven’t tried it, but it should work, perhaps just less of a lemon flavor.
Can I use lemon zest instead of extract?
These look perfect for Father’s day weekend! How is the texture? Are they hard or soft? My cookies anyways turn out dry and a little chalky
Hi Tya,
I don’t think these ones are no. It depends how long you bake them and how thick you make your cookies. If your cookies are a little dry and chalky, try less baking time. You should be baking them until the middle of the cookie doesn’t look wet anymore and the edges are ever so slightly golden. That being said, it could be the recipe as well. Let me know how it goes!
I’m wondering about using fresh lemon juice or zest too. Would the ratio be the same as the extract?
Thanks,
Lezlie
Hi Lezlie,
I haven’t tried it but generally extract is concentrated so no, I think you would need more fresh lemon juice and/or zest too.
I was out of poppy seeds but had plenty of chia seeds, so used those instead. I think that makes cookies healthy, yes? Hope so, because I just ate three of these, delicious!
How great is that! Love the substitution and suuure, I think that makes them healthy! ;D
Oh those hearts! They stole mine!
♥️♥️♥️
How long will the dough keep in the freezer? There are just two of us, so three dozen cookies at once can easily go to waste.
Hi Krisanna,
3 – 6 months is an average rule of thumb I have for freezing baked goods.
What maker of cookie cutter for the heart did you use? Also the size. Ty
Hi Tina,
I don’t remember 100% what the size was, but I’m fairly certain it was the 3rd from the inside of this set; https://amzn.to/3eveDa6
Hi! This recipe is DELICIOUS. I am pretty new cookie decorating and have always had success with any of your cookie recipes. This is the first recipe I have tried that I actually had my cookies spread and lose their shape. I followed all of your directions exactly! Any other suggestions for avoiding spread?
Thanks
Hi Molly,
I’m so glad you like them!
The recipe is similar in ingredient proportions to my other ones, so I’m wondering if it’s any of these things:
https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
And a little more in depth about the butter:
https://sweetopia.net/2019/11/butter-and-baking-tips/
I made these cookies yesterday. Hands down the best cookies, ever. Four dozen almost completely disappeared in a five hour window. Perfect texture and flavor. This will be my new staple recipe. Thank you!
Oh that is so nice to hear, Diane! Thank you for sharing, I’m glad you love them!
So delicious! Can not stop eating to decorate!
Glad to hear it Jade!
Hello, could you please tell me how thick to roll the dough out? Is is 1/4″? Thank you! :o)
(sorry if it’s in there and I missed it)
Hi tj,
Yes, it is. Happy baking!
These cookies were delicious but two words of warning…
1. I had to add more than a cup of flour to keep the dough from spreading in the oven.
2. No amount of additional floor kept the cookies from spreading when I tried making a thick cookie.
So keep your cookies on the thinner side.
I divided my dough in two and when rolled out, each one was slightly smaller than the size of a half-sheet pan.
Could I use salted butter instead of unsalted butter and omit the 1tsp of salt in the recipe
Yes, you can use salted butter instead.