Lemon poppyseed cookies are a soft, chewy lemon poppyseed sugar cookie topped with a lemon sour cream buttercream. They're bakery worthy cookies bursting with tart and sweet fragrant citrus flavor.
I love how easy these lemon poppyseed cookies are to make. With just a few basic ingredients, and no chill time, you can enjoy these fragrant lemon cookies on a warm spring day!
For more lemon cookie recipes try my lemon raspberry cookies or my lemon white chocolate coconut cookies.
Jump to:
Why You Will Love These Cookies
- Sweet & Tart- The sweet sugar cookie paired with the tart lemon juice is the perfect pair.
- Easy & Quick- These cookies are so much easier to make than they look. They require no chill time, and very few ingredients.
- Bakery Worthy- These cookies resemble a bakery style cookie, and taste so much better.
Ingredient Notes
Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
- Lemon: You will use both the zest and some of the juice from your lemon.
- Butter: I like using salted butter in my recipes, but whatever you have will work great.
- Sugars: You will be using both granulated and powdered sugar for these cookies.
- Flour: If you have a scale I highly suggest weighing your flour. If you don't, lightly spoon yours into a measuring cup to make sure you don't compact it.
- Poppyseeds: If you don't like poppyseeds or can't find them you can just skip them. These cookies are just as good without them!
- Sour Cream: This adds such a good texture and taste when paired with the lemon juice. You can sub with greek yogurt if preferred.
Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: In a large mixing bowl mix together granulated sugar and lemon zest with fingers, allowing the zest to open up and become more fragrant.
- Step 2: Add in butter, oil, powdered sugar, egg and lemon juice and mix together until all creamed together.
- Step 3: Add baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and flour to the bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. Fold in poppyseeds.
- Step 4: Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop. Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet. Flatten cookie balls with a glass until they are about ½ inch thick. I like to spray the bottom of my glass with cooking spray before flattening.
- Step 5: Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. You're looking for a barel
- Step 6: Mix together butter, lemon zest, sour cream, salt and 2 cups of powdered sugar on low until completely combined. Add lemon juice and another 1½ cups of powdered sugar and mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes. Frost on the cooled cookies and sprinkle with extra poppyseeds.
Expert Baking Tips
- I prefer these cookies to be chilled before eating. It is not necessary to chill them, but might be worth a try for you to see if that's how you prefer them too!
- Top your cookies with a little lemon wedge and squeeze the juice onto the top of the cookie right before eating. It's so good!
- I have given both cups and grams as measurements. Grams will be more precise, especially when measuring flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, no problem! Just lightly spoon flour into your measuring cup to insure its not packed in there. Light and fluffy is the key.
FAQ
Why do you rub the lemon zest and sugar together first?
This will help release the oils from the lemon zest and add more flavor into the cookies.
Can these cookies be made gluten free?
Yes, just sub in a gluten free flour such as cup4cup or King Arthurs measure for measure.
Storing & Freezing
These lemon poppyseed cookies will remain fresh for 2-3 days if kept in an airtight container. I love to store mine in the fridge and eat them chilled.
You can freeze these cookies in an airtight container as well. I would suggest allowing them to come to room temperature again before enjoying.
Other Popular Recipes to Try
For more yummy treats follow me on instagram @thesaltedsweets. And be sure to tag me and comment if you make them and love them as much as I do!
Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
Lemon poppyseed cookies are a soft, chewy lemon poppyseed sugar cookie topped with a lemon sour cream buttercream. They're bakery worthy cookies bursting with tart and sweet fragrant citrus flavor.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ cup (113.5 g) salted butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup (78.86 ml) coconut oil any neutral oil will work if you don't like coconut
- ⅓ cup (40 g) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 2¾ cups (385 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) poppyseeds
- ½ cup (113.5 g) butter room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons sour cream room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 3½ cups (420 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- poppyseeds for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together granulated sugar and lemon zest with fingers, allowing the zest to open up and become more fragrant.
- Add in butter, oil, powdered sugar, egg and lemon juice and mix together until all creamed together.
- Add baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and flour to the bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. Fold in poppyseeds.
- Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop. Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet. Flatten cookie balls with a glass until they are about ½ inch thick. I like to spray the bottom of my glass with cooking spray before flattening.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. You're looking for a barely light golden brown outside rim. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Mix together butter, lemon zest, sour cream, salt and 2 cups of powdered sugar on low until completely combined. Add lemon juice and another 1½ cups of powdered sugar and mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes. Frost on the cooled cookies and sprinkle with extra poppyseeds.
Video
Notes
I prefer these cookies to be chilled before eating. It is not necessary to chill them, but might be worth a try for you to see if that's how you prefer them too! Just place them in an airtight container after the frosting has set and they should keep fresh in there for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for longer.
It is best for butter and eggs to be at room temperature before starting to mix.
I have given both cups and grams as measurements. Grams will be more precise, especially when measuring flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, no problem! Just lightly spoon flour into your measuring cup to insure its not packed in there. Light and fluffy is the key.
Nutrition
Calories: 429kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 3gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 255mgPotassium: 54mgFiber: 1gSugar: 43gVitamin A: 436IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Sandy
I love anything lemon and these were amazing! Better than bakery and not difficult at all! Fantastic recipe!
Bailey
Spring time in cookie form! SO yummy!
Erin S
This is a wonderful recipe. Made these this morning for my families Easter gathering and not only did they turn out so pretty looking, they tasted amazing. Everyone raved about these. Someone said they were better than a Crumbl cookie! They were so flavorful yet light. Perfect spring cookie to impress!
Adrienne
I was so excited to include these in my Easter dessert spread and they did not disappoint! They have a lovely lemon flavor and are so pretty! Such a perfect Spring treat!
Rachel
These are so good. The lemon frosting is a nice touch. The lemon flavor is perfection! Everyone loved them.
Lonna
This cookie is so darned good! It is refreshing and the lemon flavor is not over powering. If you love lemon poppyseed scones, you will just love this recipe!
Emily C
Made these for Easter and they were a huge hit! The lemon is just delicious and very easy to assemble. The notes were right, they taste better chilled. Delicious!
Kristie Lauth
These were delicious and easy to make. I prefer them cold. Perfect summer cookie.
Brooklyn
I’m not a huge lemon fan, but these were very very good! The perfect lemon flavor. The frosting was delicious too! My lemon dessert loving dad was in heaven!