Citrus Poppy Seed Cookies

This post is LONG over due. I made these cookies a couple months back after buying a bag of poppy seeds at random from a local european specialty food store. I went into the store wanting to buy something I had never purchased before since the store had so many unusual items like cured meats with weird names I had never heard of to sauces that were completely foreign to me. What I came out with was a bag of poppy seeds, a mug of mustard (yes, a mug....), and a few other little snacks.

I asked the lady at the counter what she'd make with poppy seeds and mustard, and she suggested, in a very heavy German-like accent, *I could barely understand her*....that a great recipe her mom made was to spread a thin layer of mustard all over a whole fish, stuff the inside w/ avocado and lemon, and sprinkle poppy seeds over it. Mustard Avocado & Poppy Seed Fish. It sounded great - but I wasn't in a fishy mood - that might be another post one of these days..... I'm familiar with poppy seeds in lemon poppy seed cake, muffins, etc...so I figured I'd stick to familiarity before venturing off into foreign territory. I found a recipe online for Lemon Poppy Seed cookies that sounded pretty good. I had fresh oranges to spare as well - so why not mix lemon and orange and make it my own! The came out sweet, slightly tart and deliciously cakey/chewy!


Ingredients:
1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 tsp lemon zest
1.5 tsp orange zest
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs orange juice
2 Tbs Poppy Seeds
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 Cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:
1 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs orange juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla and blend. Add the citrus zest, poppy seeds and sour cream and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough and roll to form each cookie. Drop them onto un-greased cookie sheets - keeping the about 2 inches apart. Bake until the cookes are lightly browned - about 18 minutes. Let the cookies cool before icing.

For the icing: Put powdered sugar into a bowl and mix in citrus juices until smooth. Dip the top of the cookies and let it drip before placing it down to allow it to harden.

Makes about 20 cookies