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Lemon Balm Poppy Seed Cookies

Make sweet lemon balm cookies full of crunchy poppy seeds for refreshing herbal dessert!

This is the perfect cookie to feature the fresh lemon balm leaves from your herb garden. 

Full of lemon flavor and easy to make, these are great for sharing with friends near and far and will give you plenty of excuses to make frequent trips your herb garden. 

A plate full of lemon balm cookies sits on table surrounded by stems of fresh lemon balm and a napkin. Text overlay reads homemade lemon balm cookies.

Baking with Fresh Herbs

Over the years, I’ve experimented a bunch with baking desserts from my herb garden and have learned a few tricks.

First, be sure to chop the lemon balm as finely as your patience will allow. The more surface area, the greater the flavor. Also, no one wants a giant green leaf in their dessert. 

Second, beat the butter and chopped herbs together well. An electric mixer makes this much easier than any other method. The more the two are beaten together the better the flavor in my experience. 

For best flavor, do use lemon balm before it flowers.

Make Big Batches

Because lemon balm is a member of the mint family, it tends to be quite productive, almost invasive. Feel free to make these cookies starting with the first lemon balm of the season and continuing on until fall.

If you want something beyond cookies, check out my favorite sweet and savory lemon balm recipes.

A plate full of lemon balm cookies sits on table surrounded by stems of fresh lemon balm and a napkin.

This way you can share bags of lemon balm cookies at parties and picnics and even mail them to family in other states. 

These are also great for selling at farm stands or summer charity bake sales. 

Some Make Ahead Tips

If you’ve got a bunch of lemon balm you want to use up now but don’t feel like baking – make the compound butter and save it for later.

Simply beat together the 1/2 cup butter and lemon balm until well combined. Then scrape it out of the bowl onto a large piece of wax paper. 

Herbal compound butters wrapped in wax paper sit on a board.

Wrap it up well and place inside an airtight container. Then refrigerate for up to a week or freeze up to 6 months. 

Let the butter come to room temperature and proceed with beating it the sugar and continuing on with the recipe as written. 

Optional Additions

The recipe includes poppy seeds as a play on the traditional lemon and poppy seed combination. Feel free to skip that if it’s not your thing.

A plate full of lemon balm cookies sits on table surrounded by stems of fresh lemon balm and a napkin.

A tablespoons of lemon zest beaten with the butter would increase the lemon flavor, if you have some on hand. I skip that to keep it herbal.

A cup of white chocolate chips might be nice as well.

Add some vanilla or lemon frosting for an even sweeter dessert. 

How to Serve

Like all cookies, these are a dessert in and of themselves. Serve with some milk, coffee, or tea and call it good. 

A plate full of lemon balm cookies sits on table surrounded by stems of fresh lemon balm and a napkin.

They are delightful served with vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day, too!

Eat them with some iced tea and enjoy a quiet moment to yourself on the porch. 

How to Store

Keep any leftover cookies in an airtight container where they should stay fresh for up to 5 days.

For longer term storage, freeze cookies in containers or plastic bags. Thaw frozen cookies at room temperature prior to serving.

Eat up any frozen cookies with 6 months for best flavor. 

Learn how to use homegrown herbs to take your cooking to the next level – from planning to harvesting with more than 50 original recipes to enjoy all year. 

Yield: 3 Dozen

Lemon Balm Cookies

A plate full of lemon balm cookies sits on table surrounded by stems of fresh lemon balm and a napkin.

Make sweet and refreshing cookies from your fresh lemon balm harvest!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Salted Butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 Cup (approximately 1/2 ounce) Lemon Balm, finely chopped
  • 3/4 Cup Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cups Unbleached, All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 2 teaspoons Poppy Seeds, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of mixer, combine the butter and lemon balm.
  5. Cream butter and lemon balm well, beat very well for best flavor.
  6. Add the sugar to the herbal lemon mixture and beat until light and fluffy.
  7. Add eggs to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
  8. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until almost combined.
  9. Fold in the poppy seeds, mixing until everything is combined.
  10. Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
  11. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, cookies will be set and edges lightly golden brown.
  12. Remove from the cookie sheet to cool on wire rack.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

36

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 63Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 59mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g

We try our best but cannot guarantee that nutrition information is 100% accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

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traci

Monday 6th of July 2020

These look delicious! Is it 1 1/2 cups of chopped lemon balm of 1 1/2 cups of lemon balm, then chop it? Thanks! Can't wait to try. Trai

Kathie Lapcevic

Monday 6th of July 2020

It's chopped & then measured.

Marilee Hird

Wednesday 3rd of April 2019

Thanks for a new way to use my lemon balm!

Kathie Lapcevic

Wednesday 3rd of April 2019

Enjoy!

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