One thing I forgot to tell you about the sorbet I posted two days ago is that you don’t need a spoon to eat it. How brilliant is that!? Use these no fuss sugar biscuits to scoop up the dark chocolate goodness. You’ll thank me, and that’s a fact.
And if your cup runneth over with tea or coffee instead of dark chocolate sorbet, these cookies will still do you proud.
Orange Poppyseed Sugar Biscuits
adapted from Dorie Greenspan
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick, plus 2 Tablespoons (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tablespoons poppyseeds
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1. Whisk the flour, salt baking powder and poppyseeds together.
2. Put the sugar in a medium size bowl and add the orange zest. With the back of a spoon, grind the orange zest into the sugar until fragrant. (The sugar will act like a sand paper against the orange zest to draw out all the fragrant oils)
3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for a minute or so, until smooth. Beat in the fragrant sugar and zest and continue to beat for about 2 minutes until mixture is light and pale.
4. Add the egg and yolk and beat for another minute or two. Beat in the vanilla.
5. Reduce the mixer to low speed and steadily add the flour mixture, mixing only until it has been incorporated. Because the dough is best when it is worked the least, you might want to stop the mixer before the flour is thoroughly blended into the dough, and finish the job with a rubber spatula. When mixed, the dough will be soft, creamy and malleable.
6. Turn the dough out onto the counter and divide in half. To make slice-and-bake cookies, shape each half into a chubby sausage (about 2 inches in diameter) and wrap in plastic. The dough must be chilled or at least two hours. (Well wrapped the dough can be refrigerated fir up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 months.)
Getting Ready to Bake
1. Center the rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
2. Use a sharp, thin knife to slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and place the rounds on the baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2-inches of space between the cookies.
3. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheet at the midpoint. The cookies should feel firm, but they should not color much, if at all. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies rest 1 minute before carefully lifting them onto a rack to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Mmm, they would go great with some hot tea. Good call!
December 12th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I made these two nights ago for a cookie exchange. These are light, subtly sweet, with the perfume of citrus. Everyone loved these as an alternative to all of the over-sweeten goodies in ample supply right now.
February 25th, 2009 at 6:35 am
I might just be confused would wouldn’t 1 stick + 2 tablespoons be 10 tbsp, or 5 ounces–not 10? (1 stick = 4 oz, I believe?)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for 10 oz of butter but it seems high for the amount of flour.
February 26th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Wow! I just found your blog a few weeks ago and I am a complete addict. This was the first recipe that I have tried and these are amazing! They really hit the spot without being overly sweet. I have been trying to come up with more excuses to try out all these recipes because they all look so yummy. Thanks for such a great blog!
March 21st, 2009 at 11:55 am
These biscuits look amazing! Delicious and fabulous! I can’t wait to try them out, thanks for sharing! -e
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 pm
These biscuits look soooo good
I cant wait to make them
BUUUT question
where can i find poppy seeds?
are they available at local supermarkets?
April 19th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Oh, those biscuits sound really good, I love orange and poppy seeds
Have a wonderful day and don’t forget to check out chocolate-making kit giveaway on my site
Margot
May 17th, 2009 at 7:29 am
these look amazing and fabulous.. cant wait to try it out..m gonna try these with my morning coffee
m sure my 2 year old kid gonna love this with his hot chocolate.. thanx a lot for this perfect recipe.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Wonderful! I made these with lemons (because I had those and not an orange) and they came out beautiful!
June 8th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Hello ~ I tripped over your blog via Tastespotting. Lovely little poppyseed sables! The taste is still lingering in my mouth as I type. I went with lemon zest instead of orange and about half the size, different shape. I’m going to dip their little ends in a touch of white chocolate. I am making them a part of a trio of bites on a dessert plate later this evening.
I have enjoyed scanning your blog while baking this afternoon, I look forward to a more thorough read later tonight.
Toodles ~ jmm
June 13th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I made these today for my mom’s birthday.
OMG, they were flavorgasmic. My mom and I loved them.
I especially loved mixing the sugar with the orange zest… my nose was having citrus convulsions. It made the kitchen smell amazing.
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Now a fan,
HM
June 30th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I stumbled onto your website on accident and this recipe caught my eye. I tried them this afternoon and they are great. Also, your photography on the website is incredible.
Thanks for the great ideas.
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Making with lemon instead of orange for my friend’s surprise baby shower tomorrow. Baby girl due next month - Poppy. How apt! Love the website. Am also addicted to baking.
Many thanks!