Been thinking about my doorbell..

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Saturday started out in such a wholesome way. The sun was shining-- I took a leisurely trip to the store to get some sugar, and had a nice, slow morning of baking.
But Saturday ended with some high impact margaritas, three bottles of wine, some cognac, and a cat running around in circles doing its best to catch its own tail.
But thankfully, I had the cookies to prove that I had been somewhat productive that day. An evening of debauchery is allowed when you've spent the earlier hours baking sweet cookies for your friends, isn't it?
The problem is that Sunday morning I awoke with little room for any thoughts in my head. Every bit of my brainpower was consumed with the same 2 lines of a song that went over and over in my mind. It's a song that I normally like, but which this morning felt rather like a jackhammer working its way at my temples.

"I been thinkin' about my doorbell-- when you gonna ring it, when you gonna ring it?"

There are times when I think about my doorbell too, but this morning I definitely didn't want to be thinking about thinking about my doorbell.

So there I sat, curled up on the couch with that song in my head, staring blankly at random things in my living room, while G was finally pulling himself up to a sitting position in bed.
And, as often happens when a couple finds themselves in different rooms, curiosity inevitably overtakes one of you and leaves you wondering what the other person is doing in the other room that may be more exciting than what you are currently doing. So the following conversation occurred from across the hallway:

G: Whatcha doin?
M: Starin' at stuff. Whatchu doin'?
G: Sittin' up.

And so Sunday morning began.
I'm still not sure who was having more fun.



Cookie Talk
I ripped this recipe out of a Martha Stewart Living Magazine ages ago and have carried it around with me ever since. I have made these cookies a couple of times now and I like the subtle combination of lemon and poppy seeds, neither overwhelms the other. They're good tea time cookies if you're into that sort of thing.
They seemed to go over well last night too, with good reviews all around. And that was so not tea time.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
(adapted from a recipe found in Martha Stewart Living Magazine)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
3.5 teaspoons lemon zest
8 ounces unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour (for French bakers, I used type 55 flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375F or 190C.
Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a saucepan until it is reduced by about half. Add half the butter until melted. Remove from heat.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

Cream remaining butter and 1 cup of sugar together.
Add egg and lemon/butter mixture. Mix with an electric beater until pale, only a couple of minutes.
Add vanilla and 2 teaspoons of the zest.
Add flour and poppy seeds. ***see important note below regarding the flour!

Stir together remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and lemon zest in a separate bowl.
Roll your cookie dough into small balls and toss or roll them gently in the lemon sugar.
Place on a non-stick baking sheet (or use parchment paper) a couple of inches apart and press down with the flat end of a glass dipped in the sugar mixture so it doesn't stick. (I didn't press down as much as I could have, it's entirely up to you how flat you want them)
Add a pinch of poppy seeds to the top of each. ( I press these down a bit too so they don't just roll off)
Martha recommends they are baked between 10 and 11 minutes, until browned around the edges. I like to undercook them a little so they are super soft and chewy, so I only baked mine for about 9 minutes.
Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.


Important note:
*I have only made this recipe with German and French flour. Each time I have had to add about 5 heaping tablespoons of extra flour because the dough was too sticky. But with that correction the cookies turn out wonderfully. Well I like them anyway..