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Poppy-Shaped Lemon Cookies

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    Buttery cookies get a jolt of citrus flavor and a delicate glaze of royal icing in this take on the timeless lemon-poppy seed combination.
    Martha Stewart Living, May 2011
    • Prep Time 50 minutes
    • Total Time 5 hours 20 minutes
    • Yield Makes about 18 (9 large and 9 small)
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    Ingredients

    • For the Cookies:

      • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
      • 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
      • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
      • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
      • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
      • Salt

    • For Decorating the Cookies:

      • Royal Icing, plain and/or tinted
      • Poppy seeds, for sprinkling

    Directions

    1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice until combined. Beat in flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
    2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out about 18 cookies using 2 sizes of flower cookie cutters (one 3-inch and one 3 3/4-inch; fancyflours.com). Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
    3. Bake until edges just start to brown, 14 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely.
    4. Decorate the cookies: Transfer each batch of tinted icing to a separate pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (you can use as many colors as desired). Pipe an outline of icing around the edges, then "flood" each cookie with more icing to cover. Immediately pipe a circle of small dots in the center of each cookie using a different-colored icing. Drag dots to outer edges using a toothpick to create thin lines. Repeat with remaining cookies and icing. Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, and let dry completely, about 30 minutes.
    5. Once cookies are set, pipe a large dot in the center of each cookie using the same tinted icing as the small dots. Gently sprinkle poppy seeds around large dot. Let dry completely.

    Recipe Reviews

    • AlexLuv2Cook
      13 May, 2012

      The links for the pictures are broken. Site admin needs to make the correction so the pictures can been seen by all.

    • ferlie
      13 May, 2012

      The first rule of baking or cooking is to read the recipe right thru.
      I have been baking for over 50 years and have never turned the oven on too early.

      Good baking and Happy Mothers Day everyone!!

    • mykele
      4 Jun, 2011

      Please always check your recipe before starting, this recipe
      again tells you to preheat your oven and next you are to
      chill your dough. This direction happens often in recipes
      on this site. Preheat your oven when you are putting
      the cookie dough on baking sheets . This is such a basic
      rule but happens too often here. Mykele

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