Lemon Poppyseed Crinkle Cookies from Tasty Pride

If you're like me, you follow those Tasty videos that make cooking/baking anything within reach. They've started compiling recipes in different themes and publishing them, and one I had a review copy of is Tasty Pride, gathered by Jesse Szewczyk (who I follow in Instagram) and featuring 75 LGBTQ+ identifying cooks, chefs, recipe developers, food writers, and other people in the food industry. Full color pictures make all the recipes appealing but of course I gravitated toward the dessert chapter. (I also marked the "Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet à la Mode, by the creators of Coolhaus, to try.) Growing up, my Mom made a lemon poppyseed cake so often it was like her signature cake, and we always made chocolate crinkle cookies for the holidays (although we call them wagon wheels), so this recipe was appealing to me in its flavor profile and nostalgia feels. I gave most of them to my new neighbors next door because otherwise I would have eaten them all myself~ I did change a few of the steps, so check below the recipe for my modifications.

Lemon Poppyseed Crinkle Cookies
Recipe by Justin Burke-Samson

Makes about 25 cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 3 lemons
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp poppy seeds
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Cream on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the lemon juice, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 4 minutes, until fully incorporated. The mixture will look broken at first, but it will come together.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds.
3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula to incorporate any floury bits at the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 2-tbsp cookie scoop to portion out the dough and place the balls on the pans at least 2 inches apart. Wrap the baking sheets in plastic wrap and freeze the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 1 month.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
6.  Roll the balls of cookie dough in confectioners' sugar, then return to the baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 16 minutes, rotating the pans halfway, or until cracks form and the edges are slightly golden. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool slightly on the baking sheets. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
   

Notes from JennyBakes:

When I'm making anything sweet that is citrus, I zest the fruit into the granulated sugar and rub it through with my fingertips. It just makes the cookies super lemony!

I skipped the freezer time. Once the dough was chilled, I didn't see a point in freezing it. The balls were fine quickly rolled in the confectioners' sugar and baked immediately. It still took a solid 16 minutes.