Lemon, Poppy Seeds and Cornmeal Cookies

These thin and crunchy cookies, are perfect for a summer day: their fresh lemony flavor, combined with the crunchiness and taste of poppy seeds, goes great with cold iced tea or lemonade, with ice cream or sorbet.In addition to all that, the cookies are very easy to assemble, require short baking time and can keep in the freezer for up to a month.
So it’s definitely worth it to prepare the whole amount and bake as many as you need whenever you feel like it. Try them and enjoy.

Makes: about 90 thin cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Baking time: 12-14 minutes

Ingredients:
1 stick (115 grams) butter, soft
1½ cups sugar
2 XL egg yolks
2 Tbs lemon zest
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 cup flour
½ cup coarse cornmeal
½ cup poppy seeds
½ tsp cardamom powder
½ tsp baking powder
Dash salt

1. In a mixer bowl, fitted with the mixing hook, mix the butter, sugar, egg yolks and lemon zest on medium speed.

2. Scrape the sided of the bowl and add the lemon juice, flour, cornmeal, poppy seeds, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Mix on medium-low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

3. Transfer the dough to a work space and knead a bit by hand, to form the dough into a ball. Cut the dough into 4 equal portions.
4. On a work space, roll each portion of the dough into a log about 12” (30 cm) long. Wrap in wax paper. Place in the freezer for 1 hour and up to 1 month (in the later case, pack in freezer bags as well).

5. To bake: preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line a cookie sheet with baking paper. Slice with a heavy knife, into 0.8” (2 cm) thick slices. You should get about 24 slices from each log.

6. Place the slices on the cookie pan, leaving enough space for the cookies to expand. Bake for 12-14 minutes. The cookies will seem pale on top, so it’s best to lift one gently with a spatula and check if the bottom is golden-brown.

7. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. The cookies will harden as they cool. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.