Lemon and Poppy-Seed Crinkle Cookies

I can't seem to keep away from Emelia Jackson's book Some of my best friends are Cookies!  I decided to make these for Bookclub in September, as I wasn't going to be there in person.  My biscuits would have to be an excellent substitute :=)  Hehehe ...  

We have a wonderful children's bookshop (which also stocks books for adults) just up the road - The Quick Brown Fox, where we have our monthly bookclub.  We tend to read fiction, which is not big on my reading list (I go for non-fiction and crime usually), but everyone needs to expand their horizons sometimes, n'est-ce pas?   

crinkly, lemony, sugary deliciousness

Makes 35 small(er), or 25 large(er) ones:

ingredients:

125g./4.5 oz butter, softened (not melted)

210g./7.5 oz caster sugar

2 large eggs (about 66g./2.3 oz each)

1/2 tsp lemon extract, or vanilla extract   see Notes

Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

350g./12 oz plain flour 

1.5 tsp baking powder

30g./1 oz poppy seeds

80g./2.75 oz white sugar

80g./2.75 oz icing sugar

one guess?  Yep lemons, my friends :=)

  aka all-purpose flour!

Method:

Use your stand mixer if you have one, or just good old electric beaters (as I did) to cream the butter and sugar together for a few minutes, till "light and fluffy", as Emelia says

Then you chuck in the eggs, extract, lemon zest and juice, and mix again till combined beautifully - yes it may look ghastly at this stage - all split and curdled - but carry on, my friends - all will improve

Now in go the flour, baking powder and poppy seeds - and mix gently till you have a soft dough

And now chill this in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight - I think I chilled mine for about 3 or so hours  (don't skip this bit!)

Your oven then goes on to 200C/390F to heat up

Grab 2 baking trays, and line with baking paper

Now you need 2 bowls (large enough to roll your dough balls in), white sugar in one, and caster sugar in the other

Emelia says to divide the dough into 25g./1 oz balls with a small cookie scoop  (I went off to the shops to buy one!  And I'm so glad!)

So each scoop gets rolled in the white sugar, then the icing sugar, and then ends up sitting nicely on your trays

The biscuits can take from 13 to 16 minutes, depending on the size (mine took about 16 mins.)

They will spread a bit, and look deliciously crinkly, and a wee bit moist in the centre

Let 'em cool on the trays for 10 minutes, then onto a wire rack till cooled right off

I took half of these up to the Quick Brown Fox, where they went down a treat apparently.  And they wanted the recipe - can't do better than that!

you'll never guess - hehehe ...

Notes:

Don't rush out to buy lemon extract for just half a teaspoon.  That's crazy town :=)  Just use vanilla extract, like I did

ingredients gathered

get thee zesting and juicing

looks curdled and disgusting but fear not - all will be well!

just chuck in the other ingredients

See?  Told you it'd be okay in the end :=)

start scooping and rolling and sugaring up

and onto the trays

you caught me out - I took a bite

cooling off nicely

Bookclub said they were delicious!

kind words from the bookshop ladies!

Bill Granger's Baked Chicken with Lemon, Potato and Green Olives

Wow!  I made this dish in February 2024!  Crikey, how time flies.  This is a dish from Bill Granger, well-known and beloved Aussie cook who died way too young on Christmas Day 2023.  We ate at his Bondi restaurant several times over the years, on our trips down south.  And we always had a good feed there :=)  His scrambled eggs were legendary - nearly equal parts eggs to cream!  (I posted my version of his eggs in Feb 2024, too!)  Must have been a good month :=)

Have just been to the Japanese shop again!  Mmm, did I buy a few too many Pocky sticks, and matcha biscuits?  Well, maybe.  And they've opened a Japanese deli next door, and there'll be a cafe as well soon.  And of course, can't forget the Asian shop nearby - with even more delights!  My pantry is groaning.  I remember Mr P.'s SIL diving into our pantry one day, and being dragged out by her hubby.  She thought it was full of fascinating stuff - and how right she was - hehehe :=)

    

how good does this look?  Yep, heaps good!

Serves 4:

ingredients:

1kg/2.2lb potatoes like Desiree (a good roasting tater, as Samwise Gamgee would say)

1 red onion, cut into big chunks or wedges (peeled of course, silly!)

75g./2.6 oz green olives

1 lemon, sliced

50g./1.8 oz pancetta, or bacon, or capers or caperberries, or all of 'em

2 dried or fresh bay leaves  -  I used 6!

1 Tbs tomato paste

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar  (but use whatever you have; I used cranberry balsamic)

120mL/4 oz chicken stock  (pour it into a jug for easy stirring)

1.2kg/2.6lb chicken thighs (I used skinless, and boneless)  see Notes

1 Tbs EV olive oil

sea salt flakes

freshly ground black pepper, to taste - maybe 10-12 grinds?

1/2-1 tsp chilli flakes  (optional)

yep, it's taters!

and a lemon

Method:

Whack on your oven to 180C/350F to heat up

Chop the taters (potatoes) into chunks (you choose the size), and tip them into a roasting pan (I like to line my baking dish with baking paper = easy cleaning)

Then chuck the onion chunks, olives, lemon slices, pancetta and bay leaves over the potato pieces

Now comes the tomato paste and vinegar - which you stir into your jug of chicken stock - give it a good mix!

And pour this mixture over your veg. in the tray/pan

Your chicken pieces go on top of the veg. and the stock in the pan

Then drizzle the EVoo over it all, and season with salt, pepper (and chilli flakes if using)

Shove the dish into the oven, and bake for 50 minutes

Now take it out of the oven, remove the chicken pieces, and crank up your oven to 220C/430F

Place the dish back into the oven with the veg. mix, and bake for a further 10-15 minutes till the veg. looks well-coloured and delicious

The chicken goes back into the pan, on top of the veg., for serving  (Bill says to take out the bay leaves first ... hehehe)

red onion, natch!

you know what these are, my friends :=)

Notes:

Bill says to use a 1.7kg/3.7 lb chicken, jointed - but why not buy 'em in pieces already, I say? :=)  And I cut 'em up into 3 or 4 pieces

I'd suggest throwing in a few whole cloves of garlic too!

ingredients gathered 

veg. in the baking dish

on go the chicken pieces

out comes the cooked chook

and back go the veg.

and done!

eat up!

delicious!

juicy, salty - yum!

green olives

In My Kitchen - October 2025

Phew!  September was a busy month.  And I have a feeling that October will roar on by too.  My talk to the Historical Society went well (I think), and you can view it on YouTube, my friends!  (Just email me, and I can send you the link.)

Mr P. will be going in for treatment in October, so neither of us are looking forward to that.  But here's hoping it's all for the best.  He is a very positive person, and I think that helps.  He has been disabled since his young manhood, so it seems bloody unfair to add this!

the cuz painting the (back) eastern wall!

Not in my kitchen, but underneath :=)  The cuz came up from Melbourne, expressly to help us paint the back wall.  So very kind of her.  And it looks so good!  Thanks cuz!  (That's a mango tree on the left, an olive tree on the right, and a persimmon, and a jaboticaba tree on the left-hand side of the house.  And of course, the old Hills Hoist on the left.  Who needs a clothes dryer when you have the sun?)

In My Kitchen:

a new electric jug

Mr P. cannot lift a jug of water, so we have this one on a gimbal.  It means he can just push the handle forward, and the water falls into his mug.  A brilliant invention!

had to buy some more of this!

and this!

the Asian store was calling my name ... again ...

a (very) belated birthday gift from a lovely friend

and I bought this!  I adore Emma Bridgewater pottery

I made wholegrain mustard for Mr P.'s sandwiches

a wonderful friend brought this back from Singapore for me!

Guess who?  Yep, it's Tintin!  There is a big Tintin shop in Singapore (literally called The Tintin Shop!), so our dear friend Madame M. got this beauty for me when she was there recently.

I made toasted muesli

I ordered some goodies from Tasmania

and I made rice pudding - with rose and cream, and brown sugar

and the curveball!

I bought this wonderful crabby palette from Jacklyn Foster Art.  I love her foodie art pieces.  And I bought a new iphone cover with her crab on it, too!  Yep, the crab is my star sign.

and a very sneaky extra curveball - the phone cover

c. Sherry M.

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Capsicum Salad with Capers and Red Onion (And Salmon Cakes)

Crikey, I made this one for Cookbook club waaay back in early 2024!  Procrastinate?  Nope, not me.  This is my take on a recipe called Raw Capsicum salad with capers and red onion, from The Food Saver's A-Z by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards. 

But as you can see, I decided to go for the roasted capsicums (in a jar), rather than the raw capsicum.  When I was a uni. student back in the day, I moved into a share house with some vegans and vegetarians.  I had never eaten capsicum in my life (mum and dad were the meat and 2 veg. types - think of boiled potatoes and tinned peas), so I got to try it for the first time.  I did NOT like it, my friends, but I was determined to, so I just kept on trying it till I did like it.  As I have done with many foods (and things) in my life :=)  Ah yes, a free bit of life advice there for you all - hehehe ...

salad, fish cakes and potatoes

Serves 2-3 as a side, or 3-4 as a main with the fish cakes:

Ingredients:

1 x 260g./9 oz jar of roasted/chargrilled capsicum, drained to give you 160g./c. 6 oz roasted capsicum  see Notes

1 small red onion

2 small cloves of garlic

1 Tbs EV olive oil

1 Tbs vinegar (they say apple cider, but use white wine vinegar or whatever you fancy, or have lying around the pantry)

a big pinch of salt, and of sugar

as much freshly-ground black pepper as you like - maybe 10 grinds?

some paprika, they say - half a teaspoon, a whole teaspoon? - you choose

1 Tbs capers

an amount of chopped dill or parsley - you know what I chose - parsley! how much? 1-2 Tbs? or more or less, as you please

Salmon cakes - 2-3 for each person - Yes I used frozen ones!

and 500g./18 oz baby potatoes   see Notes

        red capsicum/pepper

red/Spanish onion

Method:

Cut the capsicum/peppers into strips or chunks as you please

Finely slice the red onion into strips (or chunks)

Place the capsicum and onion into a medium-sized salad bowl

Add the EV olive oil, vinegar, salt, sugar and black pepper to the bowl

Don't forget to add the finely sliced/chopped garlic 

Add your paprika and capers

Throw on the fresh herbs when serving with the fish cakes and potatoes

I bought baby potatoes, that I sliced (not too) thinly, then tossed in salt, pepper and a wee bit of EV olive oil   see Notes

I microwaved 'em for 3 minutes, and then baked for around 20 minutes at 220C/430F, till tender

The salmon cakes came out of my freezer; I baked them as per the packet instructions

you guessed it!

Notes:

The authors suggest using one whole raw capsicum, sliced thinly but they give jarred, roasted capsicum in brine as an option - which I took!

I bought baby potatoes (which come with butter and herbs), which I sliced fairly thinly, before tossing in oil etc

yep, it's them!

ingredients gathered

capsicum, onion and capers in the bowl

serve with salmon cakes, baked potato slices, and a dash of Kewpie mayo