Last Sunday was one of those days when I wanted to bake something treaty but couldn’t quite decide what. I needed fresh lemon juice for another dish I was making that day, so I thought I’d make use of the zest and play around with a shortbread recipe.
The flavors of lemon and poppy seeds work well together, and I’m always surprised just how much flavour poppy seeds have considering how small they are.
You will need
150g unsalted butter, cut into small chunks and left until at room temperature
150g plain flour
75g cornflour
75g caster sugar (plus a little extra for sprinkling when cooked)
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
Grated zest of 1 ½ lemons
Makes about 12 biscuits
1.) Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixer until pale and creamy, then stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest and a pinch of salt.
2.) Sift in your plain and cornflour to the bowl and, using a fork, gently mix the ingredients together until you have a soft dough. Be careful not to overmix.
3.) Dust a sheet of baking paper, place your dough on top and roll it out to about 5mm thick. Place flattened dough in the fridge for 45mins - an hour.
4.) Preheat your oven to 170oC/Gas Mark 3
5.) To cut your dough either use a 6cm pastry cutter or an upturned drinking glass of around the same diameter.
6.) Place your shortbread rounds on a non-stick baking tray and bake for approx. 20mins or until slightly firm.
7.) Remove them from the oven and sprinkle with caster sugar.
8.) Leave them to cool on the tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool and harden.