LEMON AND POPPY SEEDS BISCUITS

Lemon and poppy seeds. Without a doubt one of the happiest union in my bakery repertoire.
I had tried almost every solution, from the birthday cakes to ricotta cheesecakes, from my creamy lemony mousse, so refreshing after an "important" meal, to the fragrant muffins that remind me so much of those I used to buy every sunday from a californian gentleman who had a bakery stand at People's Park Market in Dun Laoghaire.
There was only one thing left to try: biscuits or, as we call them in Italy, frollini.
It was a grey, rainy evening but my kids and I had a lovely time making them and they were so delicious that we couldn't keep our hands off!

250 g of flour
100 g of caster sugar
70 g of butter (take it off the fridge a  good 30 minutes before and let it soften)
1 egg
8 g of baking powder
few drops of vanilla essence
half a teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
the grated zest of two lemons

In a large bowl cream the butter with the sugar and the vanilla essence, then add the egg and keep beating until soft, foamy and smooth.
In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt, poppy seeds and grated lemon zest. Add the dry ingredients to the butter cream and work with your hands until you get a dough.
Wrap it with clingfilm and store in the fridge for about one hour.
Meanwhile get your work surface ready.
(note: I generally start by placing a sheet of baking paper on the table, I flour the rolling pin and the biscuits cutters and I cover the baking tray with baking paper)
After one hour switch on the oven and turn the temperature to 180 degrees, take the dough off the fridge, lay it on the baking paper sheet you have placed on the table and roll it to the thickness of half a cm.
Cut the biscuits with the cutters and place them on the baking tray. Cook for 10 minutes then take off the oven and dust with icing sugar.
Try them with fruit jam or even Nutella or, simple as they are, with your "cuppa tea" at five o' clock.