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These are the best Lemon Poppy Seed Cheesecake Cookies! These delicious thick lemon poppy seed cookies are topped with a smooth and delicious cheesecake frosting. These big and soft cookies just burst with delicious lemon flavor.
These Lemon Poppy Seed Cheesecake Cookies are so delicious and is a super easy recipe. These delicious lemon poppy seed cookies are topped with a smooth and velvety cheesecake frosting. They are so full of lemon flavor making it hard to not eat the whole batch of at once. Plus they are perfect to serve for any gathering.
For more cookies recipes, try Lemon Blueberry Cookies, Tiramisu Cookies and Coffee Cake Cookies.
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Easy to make: These cookies are so easy to make and makes for a great dessert.
- Cookies: These big and soft cookies just burst with delicious lemon flavor.
- Cream cheese topping: These cookies are topped with a smooth cream cheese and sprinkled with poppy seeds.
INGREDIENT NOTES
These are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Butter: The butter is melted in the microwave or in small sauce pan over low heat. Let it cool down to room temperature after it's melted. Use salted or unsalted butter.
- Granulated sugar: The granulated sugar gives moister to the cookie dough, which makes for a soft texture.
- Lemon: Lemon zest is added to the cookies to give them lots of flavor.
- Poppy seeds: The poppy seeds are added to the cookie dough and sprinkled on top for decoration.
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese gives the most smooth and delicious tangy flavor.
- Vanilla extract: I recommend using pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Here is how to make and bake these Lemon Poppy Seed Cheesecake Cookies. This recipe needs an electric mixer, two large bowls and a spatula.
The full recipe is down below in the recipe card.
STEP 1: Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl and let it cool down to room temperature in the fridge.
STEP 2: Meanwhile, in a bowl add the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Rub it together to release all of the lemon zest flavor, until it looks like wet sand.
STEP 3: Once the butter has reached room temperature add the lemon granulated sugar and with spatula whisk it together for 1 minute. Add the egg, vanilla extract and mix it in until combined.
STEP 4: In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt. Add the dry ingredients and with spatula mix it together until combined.
STEP 5: Using a 2 tbsp/ 1.3 ounce/53 g cookie scoop, scoop out 11 cookies and place them on a tray lined with baking paper. Then roll them between your hands into a ball. Place the prepared cookies in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
While the dough rest, preheat the oven to 180ºC/ 355ºF conventional oven.
STEP 6: Place 6 cookies on a lined baking sheet and put the remaining 5 back in the fridge until the first batch has finished baking. Bake one tray at a time for 10-11 minutes.
STEP 7: In a medium bowl whip together all of the ingredients, for the cheesecake frosting, until it reaches stiff peaks. Pipe the cheesecake frosting on top of the cookies in a swirl and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Use a kitchen scale: My default setting for my recipes is grams. It is the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients, I therefore highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
- Don't over mix your batter: I always use a spatula after everything has mixed together, to give it one final gentle fold together. This makes sure everything in the bottom of the mixing bowl has been mixed into the batter.
- Light vs. dark baking pans: For the best result, use an aluminum baking pan, greased with butter and lined with baking paper in the bottom. Aluminum pans are light in color and therefore attract less heat. That means it bakes more gently which results in a softer cake. If you use a black baking pan it'll attract a lot more heat. That will then give a darker crust, which can result in a dryer cake.
FAQ
Yes, use a large cookie scoop (2,5-3 oz) and bake them for 12-14 minutes.
Yes, scoop the cookie dough into balls and place them in an airtight container or cover them with plastic wrap, then store the cookie balls in the fridge overnight. Bake the cookies as instructed in the recipe and make the cheesecake frosting.
Scoop the cookie dough into balls and store them in an airtight container. You can store them in the freezer for up to 30 days. Let the cookie ball thaw for 1 hour before baking them as instructed in the recipe.
STORAGE
Store the Lemon Poppy Seed Cheesecake Cookies in a the fridge in an airtight container. They are best enjoyed within 1-2 days.
Other Cookie Recipes To Try
Make sure leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @juliemarieeats. To get more ideas by following me on Pinterest.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cheesecake Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
LEMON POPPY SEED COOKIES
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 110 g butter
- 1 large egg (59-60 g with shell)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 210 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
CHEESECAKE FROSTING
- 200 g cream cheese cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 75 g powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon agave or honey
- 120 g heavy cream
- Poppy seeds for sprinkling on top optional
- Lemon slices for decoration optional
The US customary cup measurement serves as a rough estimate, as it can have uncertainties, so for precise results, it's recommended to weigh your ingredients using a digital scale in grams. Baking is both an art and a science, which most often requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
LEMON POPPY SEED COOKIES
- Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. You don’t want it to bubble, so as to not lose any of the liquid in the butter. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl and let it cool down to room temperature in the fridge. Takes about 20 minutes.110 g butter
- Meanwhile, in a bowl add the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Rub it together to release all of the lemon zest flavor, until it looks like wet sand.200 g granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Once the butter has reached room temperature add the lemon granulated sugar and with rubber spatula whisk it together for 1 minute. Alternatively, mix it together in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix it in until combined.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt. Add the dry ingredients and with a rubber spatula mix it together until combined.210 g all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, ½ teaspoon salt
- Using a 2 tbsp/ 1.3 ounce/53 g cookie scoop, scoop out 11 cookies and place them on a tray lined with baking paper. Then roll them between your hands into a ball. Place the prepared cookies in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 180ºC / 355ºF and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.
- Once the 30 minutes has passed, place 6 cookies on a lined baking sheet and put the remaining 5 back in the fridge until the first batch has finished baking. Bake one tray at a time for 10-11 minutes
- Once baked, let them cool down on the baking tray for 3 minutes as they still will be soft when they are done. After they have cooled down a bit, use a spatula to lift them onto a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.
CHEESECAKE FROSTING
- In a medium bowl with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, whip together all of the ingredients until it reaches stiff peaks and it holds its shape. If making ahead of serving, place in the fridge, covered by plastic wrap, until ready to assemble.200 g cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 75 g powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon agave or honey, 120 g heavy cream
- When ready to serve, add the cream to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip e.g. Wilton 2A. Pipe the cheesecake frosting on top of the cookies in a swirl, starting from the middle and moving outwards. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and decorate with lemon zest or lemon slices.Poppy seeds for sprinkling on top, Lemon slices for decoration
Jayden
These were AMAZING!!!!! We did substitute reg. flour for GF flour and the cookies still turned out fluffy and so much flavor! I love anything that’s lemon poppyseed and they were definitely a hit! Making these for our Easter dessert!
Lana
Delicious
Any
They’re delicious 🙌🏻