Method

• 1.
  Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, lemon extract, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until well combined. The mixture may look split at this stage due to the water content of the lemon juice; don’t stress, it will come back together. Add the flour, baking powder and poppy seeds and mix on low speed until the mixture just comes together as a soft dough. Here’s the annoying part: this dough needs to be chilled to prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Chill it for 2 hours, or even overnight.
• 2.
  Once the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone baking mats.
• 3.
  Put the white sugar and icing sugar in separate bowls. Divide the chilled dough into 25g balls (using a small cookie scoop or heaped tablespoon is the easiest way to do this). Roll the balls in the white sugar, followed by the icing sugar, then place them on the baking trays. (The two types of sugar are needed to create the crackled, almost candy-like end result.)
• 4.
  Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, until they have spread, crinkled and still appear slightly moist right in the centre (this will give you a fudge-like consistency). Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.