If sunshine had a flavor, it would be these lemon poppy seed cookies. Bright, tangy, and totally addictive, these lemon cookies are incredible. They are soft, lemony, buttery, and the poppy seeds add the perfect little crunch. Finished off with a delicious lemon glaze, trust us, one batch won't be enough.
These soft and chewy lemon poppy seed cookies are an easy-to-make, no-chill cookie recipe and will be baked and in your hands in less than 45 minutes. We've included an instructional video in the recipe card below.
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We love lemon desserts around here, and if you love them too, make sure you check out these recipes! My raspberry lemon loaf is a knock off of a Starbucks classic, my incredibly delicious lemon meringue cheesecake takes layered cheesecake to a whole new level, and my rich lemon blondies are chewy, thick and amazing!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These lemon poppy seed cookies are quick and easy to make, perfect for beginner bakers or little hands.
- This is a no-chill cookie recipe, meaning you don't have to wait in between mixing the dough and baking the cookies, score!
- Lemon poppy seed cookies are a unique cookie flavour and the perfect cookie if you enjoy the infamous lemon poppy seed muffins (they taste almost identical!).
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Lemon Poppy Seed Cookie Ingredients
- Pure Lemon Extract - Be sure to use pure lemon extract and not lemon oil.
A full ingredient list with the exact quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
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How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies With A Lemon Glaze
These cookies are incredible. They are loaded with lemony flavour, buttery soft, and covered with an even more delicious lemon glaze.
Mixing The Dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, poppyseeds, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the butter until it is smooth, then add the sugar, egg, lemon extract, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat the dough until it is silky smooth.
Completing The Cookie Dough
Next, add the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is just combined; it will look a little bit crumbly.
This is a no-chill recipe, meaning you do not have to put the cookie dough into the refrigerator before baking the cookies.
Baking The Cookies
Using a cookie scoop, scoop out some cookie dough and, using your hands, roll it into a ball. Place on a baking sheet, leaving 3"-4" between each cookie.
Bake the cookies until the bottoms are just starting to brown lightly. Transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Making The Lemon Glaze
In a small bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until a thick glaze is made. Aim for the consistency of pancake batter. If the glaze is too thick, add more lemon juice; if it is too thin, add more confectioners' sugar.
Drizzle the lemon glaze over the top of the cookies using a spoon or piping bag.
Let the glaze set for at least one hour before storing or stacking the cookies.
Tips For The Best Lemon Cookies
- Do not overbake the cookies. The cookies are done once the bottom just begins to brown lightly.
- If the lemon glaze is too thick, add a ¼ teaspoon at a time more lemon juice until it is the perfect consistency. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. The consistency of the glaze should be similar to pancake batter.
- Let the glaze set completely before stacking and storing the lemon poppy seed cookies. The glaze should only take an hour or two to fully set. Check that it is fully set by gently touching a ribbon of glaze; it should be hard and should not stick to your finger.
Storage Tips
There are a few options for the storage of these lemon cookies.
- The first option is to store these lemon poppy seed cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Another option is to freeze the cookies. Freeze the fully prepared cookies in a zip top bag for up to 3 months.
- The last option is to make the dough ahead of time and portion it out. Freeze the cookie dough balls on a sheet pan until fully frozen and then transfer them to a zip top bag. Store unbaked cookies in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen as normal, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the cookie dough can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
The cookie dough can be frozen for up to two months. If you are freezing the dough, portion it into balls and freeze on a sheet pan, transferring to a zip-top bag once the dough balls are fully frozen. Bake from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to account for the frozen cookie dough.
Additional lemon zest can be added to the glaze to make it ultra lemony. However, adding more than 1 teaspoon will make it bitter.
Soaking the poppy seeds will remove the tiny "crunch" from the seeds but still give you a pronounced poppy seed flavor. I prefer not to soak the seeds, I like the slight crunch and texture that they provide.
These lemon cookies are a part of our 12 Days of Christmas Series - Season 2. Check out Day 10: Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms! 🎄
If you made these lemon poppy seed cookies or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating, a 💬 comment and share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies with Lemon Glaze
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Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Poppyseeds
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Butter softened
- 1 Egg
- 2 teaspoons Pure Lemon Extract
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup Confectioners Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl sift together the flour, poppyseeds, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, egg, lemon extract, vanilla, and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until silky smooth. Add the dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the cookie dough and roll into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet, leaving 3"-4" between each cookie. Bake cookies for 12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice, stirring to combine. The glaze should be a similar consistency to pancake batter. Using a spoon or piping bag, drizzle the glaze over top of the cookies. Let the glaze set for 1 hour before stacking or packaging the cookies.
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Video
Notes
- This is a no-chill cookie dough recipe, meaning there is no refrigeration time required while baking the recipe.
- Be sure to use pure lemon extract and not lemon oil.
- Take care not to overbake the cookies. The cookies are done once the bottom just begins to brown lightly.
- If the lemon glaze is too thick, add a ¼ teaspoon more lemon juice. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. The consistency of the glaze should be similar to pancake batter.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- This cookie dough can be frozen before or after baking. To freeze the dough before baking, portion the dough into cookie dough balls and freeze on a sheet pan. Once fully frozen, transfer to a zip top bag. Unbaked frozen cookie dough will last up to 2 months in the freezer.
- To bake frozen raw cookie dough, place the frozen dough balls on a baking sheet and bake as normal, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time to account for the frozen dough.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator and it will vary based on the ingredients that you use.
April says
These are the best cookies I've ever eaten. I dream about these!