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Bright and sunny biscotti with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside and a tender, flavorful center.
This lemon poppy seed biscotti recipe was updated (along with the photos) in December 2019 to feature a more prominent lemon flavor and slightly softer interior.
So the biscotti bug bit me pretty hard. Ever since I made my first ever batch of biscotti back in June, I have been itching to make another variety. Aaaaand I totally have one planned for the Christmas season, so stay tuned for that one!
I said it before and I’ll say it again, biscotti are not difficult, they’re just a bit time consuming and take a little planning ahead.
I think those two things are what always scared me away from trying my hand at this beloved cookie of mine, but when I realized the work wasn’t difficult, I found the time spent on the biscotti was more fun!
And of course, as I said back in my funfetti biscotti post… It’s ALLLL about the dunk. Lemon poppy seed dunked in my coffee? Uhhhhmazing.
This recipe is almost identical to my funfetti biscotti recipe, which I used as a guide for these lemon poppy seed dunkers. I swapped out a few ingredients and rearranged the method a little bit to create the most lemony biscotti possible: before you do anything else with ingredients, you’re going to make sunshine, I mean lemon sugar.
This sounds way harder than it actually is and will take you no time at all. Before you juice your lemon, you’ll zest the whole thing right into your 1/2 cup of sugar. You should get about 2 teaspoons of zest from one medium size lemon.
From there, you’ll use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar crystals. What this does is release the oils in the zest, allowing lemon flavor to really seep into the sugar. Would you get lemon flavor from simply adding lemon zest and calling it a day?
Of course!
But making this lemon sugar is super easy and gives the flavor a head start, maximizing the lemon tang of each biscotto. Can you argue with that??
Lemon sugar should be nice and yellow and fluffy!
↓↓↓
After you’ve created the sunshiniest sugar in the world (lick your fingers before you wash your hands off– you’re welcome), you’ll create your wet ingredient team, combine it with your dry ingredient team, turn all of the dough out onto a lightly floured baking sheet, and form it into a rectangle (don’t worry, I have some step-by-step photos under the recipe).
As far as the ingredients go, you’ll be working with only one tablespoon of butter which somehow, magically, brings such a buttery taste to each cookie. You’d think there was a whole stick of butter in this dough! But there’s not. Like I said: magic.
You’ll combine that butter with bit of vegetable oil which prevents the interior from getting dry, but also helps make the exterior a bit crunchy. Just one egg keeps the interior crumbly without being like sand, and a hefty dose of poppy seeds go so nicely with that bright citrus.
Seriously, who ever decided that citrus + poppy seed was such a wonderful combination?? I want to be besties with that person.
Anywho… I decided to put an egg wash on these biscotti because I wanted a little bit of a shiny look. Also, the egg wash helps the edges brown a bit and gives them a nice golden color.
Although there is a ton of lemon in these biscotti, the yellow color doesn’t come through all that much. And despite how tasty biscotti are, they aren’t the most photogenic treat in the world. Let’s brighten up the surfaces as much as we can with a little golden shine! 1 egg + some lemon juice = shiny, lemony, crispy edged cookies.
Is your mouth watering yet?
What I love most about these biscotti are that they have the most crunchy, crispy exterior that gives you a wonderful texture to sink your teeth into. Inside that crunchified (yep, crunchified) exterior is a tender, buttery, undeniably lemony interior that is bursting with crunchy little poppy seeds.
Like I said, not the most attractive treat I’ve ever made, but how much my tastebuds love them totally makes up for that.
Try your hand at this tasty little cookie, make another batch of these party-filled ones, and prepare yourself for a special holiday edition come December. You might just find yourself a biscotti aficionado. I’m totally trying to be one…
…just kidding.
Kind of.
Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- zest of two lemons approximately 4 teaspoons
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- juice of one lemon divided
- 1 and 3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- EGG WASH: 1 large egg beaten with lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Lightly flour the baking sheet. Set aside.
- Place the sugar in a medium size bowl and add the lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until all of the zest has been incorporated and most if not all of the sugar is pale yellow. Whisk in the butter, oil, egg, vanilla extract, and 4 teaspoons of the lemon juice until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix with a large wooden spoon or sturdy rubber spatula until everything is combined.
- Turn dough out onto lightly floured baking sheet and, with floured hands, pat dough into a rectangle about 1/2" thick. My rectangle was 6" wide and 7 and 1/2" long (using a ruler or a ruled silicone baking mat is helpful here). Make the egg wash using the remaining lemon juice (approximately 5-6 teaspoons) and brush onto the entire rectangle, being sure to get the egg wash on the sides of the dough as well.
- Bake dough slab for 22-24 minutes, or until the top and sides of the slab are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, but do not turn off the heat. Place baking sheet on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Once the dough is cool enough to touch, cut into 1" thick slices using a sharp knife. Cut these 1" slices in half, making a perpendicular slice down the entire slab. Set slices cut sides up on the baking sheet.
- Return to the oven to bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, turn biscotti over, and bake the other side for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet (cookies will become crunchy as they cool). Transfer biscotti to a wire rack to cool completely. Store biscotti in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Baked biscotti may be frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Lightly flour the baking sheet. Set aside.
Place the sugar in a medium size bowl and add the lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until all of the zest has been incorporated and most if not all of the sugar is pale yellow.
Whisk in the butter, oil, egg, vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice until combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix with a large wooden spoon or sturdy rubber spatula until everything is combined.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured baking sheet and, with floured hands, pat dough into a rectangle about 1/2″ thick. My rectangle was 6″ wide and 7 and 1/2″ long (using a ruler or a ruled silicone baking mat is helpful here).
Make the egg wash using the remaining lemon juice (approximately 5-6 teaspoons) and brush onto the entire rectangle, being sure to get the egg wash on the sides of the dough as well.
Bake dough slab for 20-22 minutes, or until the top and sides of the slab are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, but do not turn off the heat. Place baking sheet on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Once the dough is cool enough to touch, cut into 1″ thick slices using a sharp knife. Cut these 1″ slices in half, making a perpendicular slice down the entire slab.
Set slices cut sides up on the baking sheet. Return to the oven to bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn biscotti over, and bake the other side for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet (cookies will become crunchy as they cool).
Transfer biscotti to a wire rack to cool completely.
If you love lemon poppy seed, you might enjoy my Orange Poppy Seed Scones!
Leah | Grain Changer says
Lynn I am absolutely OBSESSING over this idea!!!!!!! While I make Anthony biscotti weekly (and even tend to use a little orange in them) I would have never thought of making a citrusy lemon poppy seed version which is GENIUS! I can only imagine how amazing these are dunked in a cup of coffee or strong black tea. This is definitely moving to the TOP of my must make list!
Lynn says
Ohh YUMMMMM to orange!! You must make these next time. Also, you’re an awesome wife!! Granola and biscotti every week? You’re swell.
Dina says
Omg I can’t wait to make these. I make biscottis all the time. And I love lemon!
Lynn says
You’ll love these, Dina! Especially if you’re already familiar with biscotti baking!
Jessica @ Sweetest Menu says
What a brilliant flavour choice – love all things lemon! Can’t wait to see what you have planned for Christmas!
Lynn says
Thanks so much, Jess! I’m so excited for Christmas cookies, haha.
CakePants says
I pretty much adore anything lemon+poppy seed, so I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorite flavor combos made into biscotti! This looks fantastic, and I agree – that lemon sugar really does look like sunshine in a bowl!
Lynn says
Aaaaand it totally is. You definitely need to try these!!
Amy says
One of the best flavour combinations ever in gorgeous crumbly, get-in-my-tummy biscotti! I cannot wait to make this treat. They certainly won’t last very long in our cookie jar 🙂
Lynn says
I’m so glad I decided to put this flavor combination into biscotti form! They were dangerously good, so it’s a good thing the recipe only makes a dozen!
bergetrk says
These look like perfection to me! Need this with my coffee right now!
Lynn says
They were PERFECT with coffee!
Jenn Borys says
I just made these this morning. First time ever making biscotti and they are FANTASTIC! Love the lemon flavor. Just the right amount of poppy seeds. Will be making again very soon. Thank you
Lynn says
Thanks for letting me know, Jenn! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Eva C. says
I made these over the weekend. Although these were good, they weren’t great. They weren’t crunchy like a true biscotti; more like a stale, dried cookie?! It was softer than a traditional biscotti. Also I had hoped for an intense lemon flavor, as described, but it was just a hint. I do have to say they turned out pretty.
Lynn says
Hi Eva, I’m sorry to hear they weren’t great for you. Whenever we make biscotti at home, mine always turn out VERY crunchy. Thanks for trying the recipe!
Eva C. says
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I do love the combo (lemon/poppy seed) though and will try it in other things.
Hollie says
I tried the recipe last night. I don’t think I measured anything wrong, my results were not like yours. My dough felt a lot more like pie crust. There wasn’t enough moisture to pull it together. I added about 4 tbsp water and still had a barely together dough that didn’t make a nice rectangle at all.
The resulting biscotti have a nice flavour. I wish they were more lemony. However. If they had been completely inedible (which they aren’t ) it would be worth it for the sunshine sugar method. I loved it.
Lynn says
Hi Hollie– so sorry these didn’t work out quite right for you! I’m not quite sure what might have gone wrong. But the sunshine sugar method is great for anything you need to brighten up with citrus!
Hollie says
Lynn:
Failing at this recipe bothered me. My dough had been nothing like what it should have been, and I hated that. I tried them again last night. I did make a few changes – I weighed my flour instead of scooping / scraping, and I put in the zest of 2 lemons and the juice of 1.5. (I did have to add more flour after that.) I put in extra poppyseeds. They turned out amazing. Well. We’ll see what The Man thinks when he gets home. They’re super lemony, which I love. And I like biscotti more than scones, for the smaller serving size (eating three or five biscotti is better than three or five scones, right?) and the ease of packing for lunch. I will be making these all winter!
Lynn says
Hollie! I am SO glad to hear you found a method and variation that worked for you! Yes, measuring flour correctly is always a suggestion of mine, as it can totally screw things up. Eat up, friend! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Felicia says
Where did you bake the dough in the oven? I put mine in the middle and after 10 minutes the crumbly dough had burned! Your dough looked nothing like mine, it was like a crumble of a pie! Should I add water, like Hollie did?
Lynn says
Hi Felicia– I always bake in the middle of my oven. Adding a little more liquid should help the issue, but I’ve never had that problem making biscotti. The recipes always work the way I write them for the blog.
Jenny G says
I am in the process of making my 2nd batch for part of my Christmas food gifts. These cookies are amazing! I tweaked it a little bit after reading the comments. I did the zest of 2 lemons (not 1), the juice from 1 1/2 lemons (not 1), added 2 tsp juice into the wet mix (not 1), added 1 Tbsp of water to the dough when mixing it all together, and after slicing the biscotti, I cooked them only 6 min per side because mine got too brown after 8 min per side. What a special treat! Only problem is…I cant stop eating them! Definitely a keeper!!!
Lynn says
Thank you for sharing your adaptations, Jenny!
Natalia says
I just made these for a tea party with some girlfriends and they were fantastic! Just the right amount of crunch and not too sweet. I dipped them in some dark chocolate and they looked store bought. I did have to bake them for slightly longer than indicated and also added a lot more lemon juice to give a stronger flavour. I also had to sub coconut oil for canola oil as I didn’t have any on hand, but you can’t even taste the coconut. Thank you for sharing this great and easy recipe! Your pictures and writing made it super easy to follow. I’ll be making a lot more of these in the future.
Lynn says
So glad you enjoyed them, Natalia! Thanks for letting me know!
Stacy Lanson says
These are really fabulous! I made them tonight for the first time and tripled the recipe. I will make them again…they are that good! May even do a chocolate dip for them or powdered sugar glaze in the future, if I am craving something sweeter. They are lovely, as is! Reading the other comments, I see some bakers had issues. As you would understand, as you are a scientist, baking has so many variables…altitude, weather conditions, moisture levels in the flour, calibrations of oven temperature, etc. Bakers may need to tweak the recipe to their conditions, but this recipe is so worth the experimentation. Thank you! I feel that it will become an heirloom recipe for my family.
Lynn says
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Stacy! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
M.PRESLEY says
I am having an Italian-themed party and this will make a perfect dessert! Thank you for sharing!
Lynn says
I hope it worked out well for you!
patti bersano says
I now have them baking in the oven and cannot wait to taste them. I’ve been making this kind of cookies for a very long time. I found a recipe cook book for only biscotti’s. Everyones favorite is the Almond Crunch. I’ve also make them with cranberries and
Pistachio’s for Christmas. I found that roasting my nuts really bring out the flavor. With the cranberries, I soak them in orange juice, and before using them, I squees out the excess orange juice, the add grated orange rind. Yum!
Lynn says
Oooooh, soaking in orange juice! That’s such a smart idea, Patti!
Marisa says
Just made these there absolutely great !
Lynn says
Thanks so much, Marisa!
Kim says
This recipe is AMAZING! Made them along with my hubby’s favorite choc chip cookies today and we both adore them! Lemon poppy seed muffin is my favorite muffin so it was such a wonderful recipe to bring the lemon poppy seed into a biscotti!! Absolutely adore this recipe! Definitely a keeper!!!
Lynn says
Thanks for the feedback, Kim! Glad you liked them!
Cynthia Read says
I’m certainly going to make these. How long do they keep? My usual biscotti keep for quite a while in a tin.
Lynn says
Hey, Cynthia! They should keep well for about a week.
Patti G. says
I have been making biscotti almost most of my life I when I had to add liquid to flour combo I thought that isn’t enough liquid, but it was. This recipe is amazing and the recipe was clear and precise. I, however got mixed up and decided the zestvinstead of the juice so I simply took out more juice and added the extra zest to it and made the glaze. Thank goodness it worked but I didn’t need all of it. I guess I’ll have to make more immediately. Think I’ll double the recipe. Thank you from the bottom my heart. Love them.
Lynn says
Thank you for your sweet feedback, Patti!