Soft and Chewy High Altitude Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

A high altitude recipe for the best lemon poppy seed cookies. These addictive cookies are coated in lemon sugar, with crisp edges and soft, chewy centers.

You might also love these high altitude recipes for baked lemon sugar cake donuts, iced lemon shortbread cookies, and lavender lemon cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

So Much Lemon Flavor. I made these lemon poppy seed cookies with fresh lemon zest and lemon juice, as well as a little lemon paste (lemon extract). They’re bright, a little tart, and just sweet enough. The poppy seeds add a nice nutty flavor to complement the lemon.

Perfectly Chewy. When I developed this lemon cookie recipe, I actually used my high altitude ginger molasses cookies recipe as the starting point. And they turned out exactly as I hoped they would, with their soft and chewy texture, crisp edges and pretty crackly tops.

Standard Pantry Ingredients. You only need a hand mixer and simple ingredients from your fridge and pantry to make these lemon cookies.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness to the cookies, and contributes to the crisp edges. A sparkly coat of lemon sugar on the cookies gives them the prettiest finish.
• Lemon. You’ll need 1 large lemon, and you’ll be using both the zest, as well as the juice. By rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar, your lemon poppy seed cookies will have so much fresh lemon flavor.
• Lemon Extract. A little lemon extract or lemon paste adds even more lemon goodness.
• Butter. Use unsalted butter to give these cookies a rich, buttery flavor.
• Egg Yolks. Rather than using a whole egg, two egg yolks keep these cookies chewy and soft.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Corn Starch. Tenderizes the cookies for a softer, chewier texture.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Flour. All purpose flour adds structure and strength.
• Baking Soda. Leavening agent.
• Poppy Seeds. Lemon and poppy seeds are great together, and the seeds add a nutty crunch that’s just delicious.

Instructions

Make the cookie dough.

• Measure the sugar into a mixing bowl, then use a microplane to zest the lemon over the sugar. Use your fingers to rub the lemon zest into the sugar, until moistened.
• Remove 1/4 cup of the lemon sugar, to use later for rolling the dough balls.

• Now cut the lemon in half, and squeeze all the juice out into a liquid measuring cup. You’ll need 3 tablespoons lemon juice.
• To the remaining 1 cup of lemon sugar, add the softened butter, egg yolks, vanilla extract, lemon extract, corn starch, salt and 3 tbsp lemon juice, and beat on medium speed (with a stand mixer or hand held mixer) for 2-3 minutes, until well combined, and there are no chunks of butter.

• Add the flour, baking soda and poppy seeds, and use a spatula to stir everything together into a dough.

Scoop and chill the dough.

• Use a small cookie scoop with a release lever to scoop the dough into 28 balls.
• Roll the balls smooth between your hands, coat in the remaining 1/4 cup lemon sugar, then flatten the balls slightly with your hands.
• Cover and chill the dough for 1 1/2 hours.

Bake the cookies.

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the chilled cookies 3 inches apart on the baking sheet (keeping the remaining unbaked cookies refrigerated until ready to bake). Bake for 8 minutes.
• Take the pan out of the oven, and immediately, use a round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (with a circumference that’s larger than the baked cookies) and “scoot” it around the hot cookies. This pulls in the edges, making the cookies pretty and perfectly round.

• Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Continue to bake the rest of the cookies.
• Cool the cookies completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store the leftover cookies?

Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Can these cookies be frozen?

Yes, you can freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3-6 months.

Can I use bottled lemon juice instead of fresh?

You could use bottled lemon juice, but if you don’t use a fresh lemon, you’ll be missing lemon flavor in your cookies if you don’t use the fresh lemon zest, too.

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