These Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies are the real deal! Bursting with bright lemon flavor, balanced by the subtle crunch of poppy seeds and finished with a sweet, tangy lemon icing. I’ve tested and refined this recipe to make sure it delivers the same fresh-from-the-bakery feel right in your own kitchen.
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Why We Love These Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- Bakery-style at home: This recipes makes 12 big, soft, and thick cookies with a professional look and taste.
- Bold lemon flavor: Bright and fresh lemon flavor in every bite, balanced with just the right amount of sweetness.
- Tangy lemon icing: Adds the perfect finishing touch and elevates the cookie to gourmet status.
- Tried-and-true: You can trust these will turn out right, I've tested the recipe until it was perfectly perfect.
- Simple ingredients: No fancy tools or ingredients, just homemade comfort with a touch of elegance.
- Make-ahead friendly: The dough and baked cookies can be frozen for later, making them easy to prep in advance.
- Crowd-pleasers: Whether for gifting, parties, bake sales, or family treats, these cookies always impress. A perfect treat for all the lemon lovers!
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies Recipe Ingredients
- Salted Butter
- White Sugar
- Large Eggs
- Fresh Lemon
- Pure Lemon Extract
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- Poppy Seeds
- Powdered Sugar
Substitution Suggestions
- Salted Butter: Feel free to use unsalted butter and add an extra ½ teaspoon of salt to the cookie dough.
- Lemons: Use a fresh lemon because you'll need the zest and juice. If you use bottled lemon juice the cookies can become too acidic and tart.
- Pure Extracts: I always recommend to use pure extracts when possible. The imitation extracts can leave an unwanted after taste in your baked goods.
- All Purpose Flour: If you like you can use white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour. The cookies will be a little darker in color and just a touch more dense. When testing these cookies, I liked them best with all purpose flour.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- First, preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Next, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Now add the lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, lemon extract and vanilla extract. Beat well until fully incorporated. At this point the dough will look a little curdled, but don't worry it's normal.
- Next, add the dry ingredients: baking powder, salt, all purpose flour and poppy seeds. Mix in on low speed just until fully combined.
- Using a ⅓ cup or large cookie scoop, make 12 even cookie scoops and place 6 on each cookie sheet.
- Roll the cookie dough into smooth balls and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand so they look like thick hockey pucks.
- Bake cookies one pan at a time on center rack for 14-16 minutes until edges are barely golden brown and the centers no longer look wet and glossy.
- Let cookies cool on pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to Make Lemon Icing
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, in a medium bowl whisk together the icing ingredients: powdered sugar, lemon extract and water until smooth. Start with 1 tablespoon and then add more if needed to reach desired consistency.
- You can now dip the top of the cookies in the lemon glaze or spread the glaze on top of the cookies with the back of spoon or an offset spatula. I prefer dipping them, it's faster and leaves the icing a lot smoother.
- Place cookies back on wire rack and let the cookies rest until the icing is set.
Do you love lemon? Don't miss my recipes for these other lemon desserts: Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies, Glazed Lemon Pound Cake and No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars! Also try these Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. They are all full of fresh lemon flavor and absolutely divine!
Storing Iced Lemon Cookies
Storing: Store these iced lemon cookies in an air tight container between layers of wax paper. Keep them in a cool dry place and they'll last about a week.
Freezing: These cookies freeze well! You can freeze them with or without the icing. I prefer without so the icing doesn't get cracked. Place the cookies in a freezer safe airtight container in single layers, between pieces of wax paper. Or you can individually wrap them in plastic wrap and then place in freezer bag or container. Label, date and freeze. Cookies will last 3-4 months in the freezer.
Thawing: To thaw the frozen cookies, unwrap if needed and then simply let them sit at room temperature until thawed. Add icing once thawed.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Freezing Cookie Dough: To freeze the lemon poppy seed cookie dough: place the pucks of dough on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then flash freeze the dough for a couple hours. Once frozen, place the frozen dough pucks in an air tight freezer-safe container or zip top bag. I like to freeze them between layers of wax paper. Label, date and keep frozen until ready to use.
Baking Frozen Cookie Dough: To bake the frozen cookie dough, place cookie dough on parchment lined cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake frozen dough at 350°F and increase the bake time to 16-18 minutes or until the edges are barely golden brown. Baking time will vary on how cold your cookies are when placed in the oven. Cool cookies on pan for 5 minutes and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Heather's Favorite Tools for this Recipe
- My KitchenAid Stand Mixer is my most favorite tool in the kitchen. It's the best for making cookies and so many other things.
- A simple microplane works great for zesting the lemon.
- I love a citrus squeezer to get the maximum amount of juice.
- Long ago, I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant and I still prefer their baking tools and pans to any others. Their cookies sheets are the only ones I use for cookies. Find yourself a consultant, host a party and treat yourself to a set. These sheet pans for Nordic Ware are good ones too.
- A large cookie scoop is great for these cookies. This large scoop from OXO on Amazon is a great one.
- Pre-cut parchment paper is a life saver and so easy. No cutting my fingers!
Tips for Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- Gather all your ingredients before you start baking. It is so much easier to bake when all your ingredients are ready. Plus, there is less room for error. Like forgetting an essential ingredient. I'm not saying I've done this, however, I am speaking from experience!
- Always read the recipe from start to finish before you start. Again, I am speaking from experience.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It helps everything mix together properly.
- To get the juices flowing in your lemon, roll it on the counter or microwave it for 15 seconds.
- Make sure to fluff your flour a bit before you measure it. When it sits for periods of time it becomes packed. Fluffy flour is better for the perfect cookie texture. To fluff your flour, just scoop it and dump it a few times or whisk it and then measure it out.
- Use a measuring cup or ice cream scoop to get the same size cookies, that way they will all bake evenly. I like to use a large scoop.
- For best results don't over bake the cookies. Over baking will make dry cookies instead of soft cookies. The edges should barely be golden brown and the centers should no longer look wet and glossy.
More Bakery Style Cookie Recipes:
- Turtle Cookies
- Strawberry Chocolate Cookies
- Red Velvet Cookies
- Giant Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Gourmet Snickerdoodles
- Frosted Cookies and Cream Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Chocolate Brownie Cookies
- Birthday Cake Cookies
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Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract and vanilla extract. Beat well until fully incorporated. The dough will look curdled, it's normal.
- Add the baking powder, salt, all purpose flour and poppy seeds. Mix in on low speed just until fully combined.
- Using a ⅓ cup or large cookie scoop, make 12 even cookie scoops and place 6 on each cookie sheet. Roll the cookie dough into smooth balls and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand so they look like thick hockey pucks.
- Bake cookies one pan at a time on center rack for 14-16 minutes until edges are barely golden brown and the centers no longer look wet and glossy.
- Let cookies cool on pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, in a medium bowl whisk together the icing ingredients: powdered sugar, lemon extract and water until smooth. Start with 1 tablespoon of water and add more if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Dip the top of the cookies in the icing or spread icing on top of the cookies with the back of spoon or an offset spatula. I prefer dipping them, it's faster and leaves the icing a lot smoother.
- Place cookies back on wire rack and let rest until the icing is fully set.
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