Citrus-Poppy Seed Cookies
Yield: 12 large cookies
These bakery-style cookies are substantial in size, delightfully tender, and bright with lemon and orange. Corn meal and poppy seeds add wonderful flavor and texture.
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup fine-ground yellow cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at soft room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon zest (use a microplane zester to get very fine zest, without any white pith)
- 1½ teaspoons fresh orange zest (use a microplane zester to get very fine zest, without any white pith)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- BEFORE YOU START: Note that you will need a large 4-tablespoon spring-release kitchen scoop (2-ounce scoop) to achieve the same (large!) size and appearance as the cookies shown in my photos.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, poppy seeds, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer), cream together butter, 1 cup of the sugar, lemon zest, and orange zest on medium speed until well combined.
- Add oil, egg, and lemon juice. Continue mixing until pale and evenly combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides every so often.
- Add dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will be somewhat dense, yet soft.
- Place remaining ½ cup of sugar in a small bowl and set aside. Using a 4-tablespoon spring-release kitchen scoop (2-ounce scoop), scoop out portions of dough onto prepared pan, at least 2" apart (cookies will spread). Then use a spoon to sprinkle each mound of dough very liberally with sugar.
- Place pan in oven and bake for 12 to 13 minutes. The cookies will seem like they need a minute longer, but take them out anyways. Let cool on the pan for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
If you want smaller cookies: To make cookies at half the size, use a 2-tablespoon spring-release kitchen scoop (1-ounce scoop) and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, following all the other instructions on the recipe card. This will give you two dozen cookies at half the normal size.
Shared with permission from The Minimalist Kitchen cookbook by Melissa Coleman at The Faux Martha.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 305kcal Carbohydrates: 44g Protein: 3g Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 6g Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 36mg Sodium: 110mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 25g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.