Lemon Poppy seed Winter Tree Cookies

 

Wishing everyone a Happy Winter Solstice!

Nicole here again, getting plenty of baking in this winter solstice! As winter approaches we enter into the quiet time of the calendar year, when nature sleeps and regenerates underneath the crisp, snowy landscape.

For all the folks that joined our virtual Winter Solstice Ceremony this evening, please share this recipe with your family and friends in celebration of the new season! May the seeds in this recipe be symbolic for the seeds that you hope to cultivate as we look to the return of light and warmth amid the darkness of the winter landscape. 

These Lemon Poppy seed cookies are flaky as they hold their shortbread texture and finish with a zesty bite! The incorporation of lemon in the cookies provides a light and flavorful 'tree-at' for you to enjoy on the first official day of winter! 

Tea Pairing: Earl Grey (Bergamot Tea)

Yield: 35-40 cookies

What you Need:

1 cup butter, room temperature

½ cup icing sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

¼ cup corn starch

1 1/3 cup white rice flour* 

½ cup almond or tapioca flour*

1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds

Icing sugar for dusting

*(If gluten free cookies are not desired, replace the flours with 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour)

Tools

Festive toothpicks for arranging winter trees 

How to Make it Happen:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Next, cream together the butter and icing sugar until the mixture is smooth and contains no lumps.
3. Add the vanilla and lemon zest to the butter-sugar mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, corn starch and poppy seeds together with a whisk, ensuring all dry ingredients are well incorporated. 

   

   Whisk to ensure all dry ingredients are well incorporated

   
   
5. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture, scrapping down the sides of the bowl frequently, until a soft dough forms.
6. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill the dough for up to 3 hours.
7. Once chilled, roll the dough to ¼" inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Please Note: I used white rice flour for rolling out the cookie dough as this flour ensures elasticity. Use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. 

   

   Roll the dough to 1/4" inch thickness on a lightly floured surface

   
   
8. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie trays, setting them an inch apart from each other. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Once the tips are golden, remove from the oven. 

   

   Bake for 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven

   
   
9. While the cookies are still warm, stack them into 6-8 cookie stack piles, alternating the ‘Star points,’ on every second cookie, ensuring that the points do not align as you build your trees.
10. Place a decorative toothpick on top and through the centre of the cookie stack (approx. 6-8 cookies) to ensure the cookies stay in place. Finish the trees with a light dusting of icing sugar.

    

    Alternate the 'Star points' on every second cookie as you build your trees