Back from vacations!

So yes, I took a little vacation...

And where, you might ask? Well I've been in a very bright warm place, with a lot of food: My kitchen!... That's where I was all this time... Yes, my kitchen is bright, warm (summer+ oven on- ok, make that extra warm), with a lot of food and a lot of work too!

I usually have some fondant cake orders, but honestly I have no idea of what happened 9 months ago (in different years), because everybody seemed to have their birthdays these last weeks!

In between all that fondant, cake batter and fillings I don't know how I still managed to bake these cookies!

LEMON POPPY COOKIE

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 100 gr butter (at room temperature)
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• ¼ tsp lemon essence
• 1 lemon (peel)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
• sugar for sprinkling

Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the egg yolk, lemon peel and lemon essence and beat more until they're completely incorporated in the butter-sugar mixture. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and the poppy seeds, and add to the first mixture. Mix just until all comes together. Form a ball, wrap in cling film and take to the fridge at least 2 hours. When it's time to use roll the dough and cut with cookie cutters. If you're making the sandwiches, cut a small circle in the middle of half the cookies and sprinkle those with granulated sugar. Bake at 180ºC (350ºF) until it's lightly golden brown.

The cookies were great by themselves, but sandwiched with the leftover Raspberry Curd from last month's Daring Baker's Challenge, they were even better! Here's the recipe again:

RASPBERRY CURD

• 100 gr (3.5 oz) fresh or frozen raspberries
• 120 gr (4.2 oz) sugar 2 egg yolks
• 60 gr (2 oz) butter cut into small cubes
• ½ lemon (juice)

Cook all ingredients on a bain-marie until it thickens and boils for about 5 minutes. Let it cool.

See? Great with or without filling! I always fill a bit of remorse when I eat a sandwich cookie, because that's eating 2 cookies while you think you're only eating one... But you know what? Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?

You can have this last one if you want! Enjoy!