Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Cookies

I have been a naughty baker. I wanted to bake. Really ...I did.

The other night, a friend called and asked if I had anything chocolaty in my freezer or fridge. After I said "no" an extreme wave of guilt and neglect washed over me. That's the worst feeling for an avid baker/gift giver. Unfortunately, my oven was cold and bare.

The truth is, I started speed walking/jogging with a friend. We do a minimum of 21 miles a week. This is double the miles I was accustomed to. We started this little endeavor about 5 weeks ago. I am truly enjoying the extra miles added to my week. The only downside is that it leaves little time for mindless snacking.

Therefore, I have been baking less frequently. Trust me, I have tons of recipes bookmarked/highlighted/printed ...just waiting to get made. I finally, got around to one of the said recipes.

Over the holidays, I checked out several baking books from the library. One of the books was Baking Illustrated from the editors of Cook's Illustrated. In the "cookie" section of the book was a recipe for lemon poppy seed cookies.

The cookies have the traditional soft sugar element you would expect. The twist is the light lemon essence accompanied with the poppy seeds. One thing I noticed with the first batch that went into the oven is that they spread and became misshapen. That's a big "no-no" here. I quickly fixed that by placing the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. After that, they were perfect circles.

Print: LEMON POPPY SEED SUGAR COOKIES

36 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Congratulations on the speed-walking/jogging!! Have fun!! :-D

Gorgeous cookies!!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...maybe I should take up jogging so I have less time for mindless snacking. My hips definitely don't object to that.

These cookies sound delicious. I love lemon poppy seed muffins, so these are right up my alley.

Deeba PAB said...

Good for you Gigi, am envious of your speed walking. On the other hand, these cookies just rock & are great for snacking, mindless or otherwise! YUM!

Abbie said...

These cookies do look and sound great. I've never actually baked with poppy seeds - GASP - so I don't even know if I like them. I shall have to find out...

Katie said...

Yikes 25miles!! You need to bake more to keep your energy levels up.
The lemon cookies look so yummy. I have a bag of poppyseeds just waiting to be used. Thanks for the freezer tip.

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

Another lovely recipe. They look delicious.

grace said...

no time for mindless snacking? i shudder to think! good for you, though, for being so active. and for making these treats. :)

Maria said...

Nice job on the workouts!! The cookies look wonderful. I think I will try them this weekend. My husband loves lemon and so do I!

PheMom said...

Oh my. I am going to have to make these soon! I love this combo - and in a cookie? Be still my heart! You are my hero for not only the cookies but your fitness prowess. A walk around the zoo is about it for me LOL!

Snooky doodle said...

These look so nice. i like the gift pack too. Great you started joggin its the only exercise I enjoyed doing. Have to start again so that I won't feel guilty eating these cookies :)

Sweet Treats by Dani said...

what cute little gifts :)

Ann said...

Love it! I have Baking Illustrated and really like it. These babies look DE-lish!

Anonymous said...

Oh yum, the cookies look so soft and delicious..!

thecoffeesnob said...

They do look really perfect. I'm now wishing I had a couple of those for an mid day snack rather than the fruit I've got on my desk.

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

That book is on my Amazon wishlist!

Your first line, "I have been a naughty baker," really inspired me to make a confession. I don't want to tell anyone at home, but I gotta tell one of my blogging buddies... Okay here it goes... I was making Dorie's Perfect Party Cake tonight for my boyfriend's birthday. While the layers (which baked up so beautifully, if I may say so myself) were cooling in the other room, my cat knocked them onto the floor!! They somehow remained in tact, so I........ yes..... I did it..... I picked them up, scraped off the layer that touched the floor, and put them back on the cooling racks! I have been a naughty baker!! =/

Gigi said...

Dear Cassie,

Don't worry your secret is safe with me. I won't tell a soul. :p

Shaheen said...

oh these cookies are too cute. Like lemon poppy cakes. Must try your cookies...

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Oh, how cute are those?!

Keep up the good work - both jogging and baking!

Donna-FFW said...

Love how these cookies ound. Its fantastic that you exercise so much, it must help with all this fantastic baking you do. Love your blog. Pictures are fabulous!!

alexandra's kitchen said...

less time for mindless snacking?! .... the horror! these cookies look delectable. i love lemon poppyseed cakes and muffins. can't imagine i wouldn't like the combo in cookies, too.

Anonymous said...

The cookies look lovely! I totally understand the guilt. My brother comes by every weekend, and always looks into the cookie tin. Now that I've begun *trying* to cut down on snacking, he sees an empty tin quite often since I don't bake as much.

Great job on the walking/jogging, though! I wish I had your determination in terms of exercising, but I guess the lazy me will just stick to cutting down on baking for now :P

Rosie said...

Pleased for you Gigi on your speed-walking/jogging!! Enjoy :)

Your cookies look gorgeous and great presentation!!

Rosie x

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Speed walking with a friend sounds like a great way to work off these cookies. I love lemon poppyseed anything!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

looks and sounds great! and i have the world's biggerst jar of poppy seeds that needs to be used more often!

Maria♥ said...

I love power/speed walking, have fun!

Gigi, these cookies look delish!

Maria
x

Caroline said...

I baked the same cookies last Christmas and they are delicious! Talk about being naughty, I told my finicky 6-yo son that the poppy seeds were sprinkles and he ate them all up. Bad mommy, huh?
Good for you for taking up speedwalking, you must be one of the people I see walking around the Rose Bowl. {sigh} I miss living in Pasadena.

Rico said...

Fantastic looking ones yup I have some please

Unknown said...

I just made these yesterday and they're delicious. My husband agrees that they melt in your mouth! Can't wait to show them off at work tomorrow. Thanks for posting as I love lemon poppyseed muffins and bread.

Can't wait to try that banana bundt. Happy Easter!

GREAT GRANNY said...

I THINK YOUR BLOG IS AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING IT ON. I'M 82 AND STILL LOVE RECIPES.

Anonymous said...

pychooooooooooooota

goldy321 said...

wow your cakes are amazing.

My Passport to Style said...

Hi I love your blog and half wish I had not find it, as I too love baking cakes it is sooo theraputic!I will now have to bake every receipe featured! Or at least make a start, but I will have to give them away as gifts after taking a slice for myself of course!S x

rach said...

love the sweetness factor

EKAA said...

The fresh apple cake came out so well, a perfect accompaniment with tea.

Sedona said...

MMM.... these look very good!!!

SinnerSynx said...

Nice recipe, I will ask my mom to make this for me :) & btw nice blog!

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