Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies With Meyer Lemon Curd Food

CRISP LEMON COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced by half. Add 1 stick butter; stir until melted.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream remaining stick butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in egg and lemonbutter. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla and 2 teaspoons zest. Mix in flour mixture and poppy seeds.
• Stir together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons zest. Roll spoonfuls of dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; roll them in sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press each with the flat end of a glass dipped in sugar mixture until 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with seeds.
• Bake until just browned around bottom edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

POPPY-SEED COOKIES WITH MEYER LEMON CURD AND SWISS MERINGUE

Steps:

• Cookies: Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Add butter, egg yolk, and vanilla to well, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine. Knead a few times to form a cohesive dough, then transfer to a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Form dough into a 12-inch-long, 1 1/4-inch-diameter log. (It's okay if it cracks in places.) Wrap in parchment, pressing top and sides to ensure a tight, uniform log. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower third. Unwrap dough, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cookies are firm in center and golden brown around edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• Curd: Beat together butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add whole egg. When thoroughly combined, gradually add egg yolks, then lemon juice. (Mixture will appear curdled.) Transfer to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Refrigerate curd until cold, about 2 hours.
• Swiss meringue: Whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water until sugar is dissolved and a candy thermometer inserted into mixture reads 160 degrees. Remove from heat and beat with a mixer on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and mixture is cool, about 10 minutes.
• Assembly: Place cookies side by side on a baking sheet. Top each with 1 teaspoon curd. Place meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip (Ateco #806) or a gallon freezer bag with 1 corner snipped to make a 1/2-inch hole. Pipe spirals of meringue on top of each cookie. Lightly brown meringue in places with a small kitchen blowtorch.

LEMON-POPPY SEED COOKIES

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and 1 tablespoon lemon zest and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until just combined.
• Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are light golden and just set, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, the remaining 1 teaspoon lemon zest and enough lemon juice to make a spreadable glaze. Spread on the cookies; sprinkle with nonpareils and let set, about 20 minutes.

LEMON POPPY SEED COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl, if using a hand mixer), combine sugar and salt. Zest both lemons over the sugar, then rub the zest into the sugar using your fingertips until moistened. (It will lightly stain the sugar yellow and release a strong lemony aroma.)
• Beat the butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping and scraping the bowl at least once in the process.
• In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk and limoncello. With the mixer on low speed, stream the mixture into the creamed butter. Stop and scrape the bowl with a spatula, then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 30 seconds.
• With the mixer off, add the flour mixture, then mix on low speed until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, working in the bowl, fold the dough over several times with your hands to ensure it is uniform.
• Fill a small bowl with the poppy seeds. Portion the dough into heaping tablespoons (about 25 grams each) and set them on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Round each piece of dough into a ball, then roll in the poppy seeds until completely coated.
• Transfer back to the baking sheet, setting at least 1 inch apart. Cover the surface with another sheet of parchment and press down with a second cookie sheet to evenly flatten cookies to about 1/2-inch thick.
• Chill in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees, and line baking sheets with parchment (or grease with butter). When cookies have chilled and oven is ready, transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart. (Keep remaining cookies in the freezer until ready to bake.)
• Working in batches, bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 8 minutes from front-to-back and bottom-to-top. Cookies will be just golden on the edges and puffy in the center but should no longer look wet.
• Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to cooling racks. Store cookies in a sealed container, and enjoy within 1 to 2 days. Bake remaining cookies, or wrap and freeze chilled cookie dough. Once firm, transfer cookie dough to a covered container or sealed bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. You can bake the cookies straight from the freezer.