Martha Mondays - Lemon Poppy-Seed Cookies

Okay, so this is my Lemon Poppy Seed Cookie story.
Today’s Martha Mondays project was chosen by Hannah at City Interludes. Lemon Poppy seed Cookies (from June Everyday Food).

Now Brette from Martha and Me who sets this up for us every week, always offers to send us the recipe if we need it. I don't get Everyday food anymore, but I figured I can always find it on line. So I checked it out and had all the ingredients that I would need, pretty basic. Next Pru who usually is the first one to post her results, after all she lives in London and she starts her day hours before we do. It is sort of cheating reading some of the results before you make yours, but others have done it before and made adjustments. Well Pru said they were a little disappointed and they laked the lemony flavor they were hoping for, she questioned the addition of vanilla extract instead on lemon extract, and a few other comments. I was really wondering about this due to the fact that the recipe called for 2 sticks of butter. Now how could something with 2 sticks of butter be tasteless, also she said the recipe didn't make as many as it said. Wow 13 cookies and 2 sticks of butter?

Not wanting to waste 2 sticks of butter on lousy cookies, I searched for another lemon poppy seed cookie that sounded like it was something that I would like and was user friendly. I found this one on Recipezaar the cookies were easy to make (I only had to use one bowl) cream butter and sugar, add egg and lemon peel, slowly add the flour, stir in poppy seeds....easy breazy! I did change it a little by adding some lemon juice and some of my homemade vanilla extract (just a touch for depth) and as Pru suggested some lemon extract (just a touch).

This is the recipe I used (from Recipezaar)

Ingredients

COOKIES

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1 large egg
* 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
* 1 1/4 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon poppy seed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
COOKIES: Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.

Beat in the egg and lemon zest.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.

Stir in the poppy seeds with the mixer on low speed.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoon 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden.

Cool on sheets for 1 minute; transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.
They were really good, my daughter ate three of them right away. (that's not like her to eat three of anything) I didn't make the icing they were fine without it.

Then I read Ana's results on Sweet Almond Tree and she thought the same...bad cookies, but I discovered that I was looking at the wrong recipe in the first place. I thought the one that we were suppose to make and that turned out so bad was the 2 sticks of butter one, but that was the one from Martha in August 2004 not June 2010. Who would of thought she'd have 2 lemon poppy seed cookies? Now I feel better knowing Pru hadn't lost it making tasteless cookie using 2 sticks of butter. :D

As Ana pointed out in her post she felt the same way I did, trying to find a better cookie recipe, she found both the good and bad cookie at Martha Stewart's site. I didn't even look at the good one thinking it was the bad one.

Here is the bad one that was in June 2010 Everyday Food:
Ingredients:

1/2 cup all - purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon - Poppy Seed Cookies, the delicious version!

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda.
In a small bowl mix together sugar, egg yolks, poppy seeds, oil, lemon zest and vanilla.
Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until combined. Dough will be dry.
Drop dough by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto two parchment - lined baking sheets.
Bake cookies until golden brown, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
Transfer cookies while hot to a wire rack and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container, up to five days. This recipe will make about 2 dozen cookies.

Now why would they have the same amount of sugar as they had flour?

Here is the good Martha Stewart recipe from Martha Stewart Living August 2004.

Ingredients for the delicious cookies :

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (2 to 3 lemons)
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Make lemon butter: bring the lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced by half. Add 1 stick butter and stir until melted.
Shift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cream the remaining stick of butter with 1 cup of sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Add the one egg and the lemon butter. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla and 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest, and mix.
Add the flour mixture and the poppy seeds and mix, to finish making the cookie dough.
Make a sugar mixture by stirring together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the rest of the lemon zest.
Roll spoonfuls of cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; roll them in the sugar mixture. You should have some sugar mixture left when you are finished.
Place dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray. Press each piece of dough with the flat end of a glass dipped in the sugar mixture until they are all 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle them with some poppy 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.
Makes about 30 cookies
Even in this one I am questioning the 2 tsp of vanilla extract
So this is my cookie story and I'm sorry it was so long, but I thought it was kind of comical. Make sure you check out Brette's results on Martha and Me. She had a lot of questions about the recipe too. I can't wait to see some more results...
Thanks for staying with me on this!!!