Hello Holiday Travelers,
Many have asked about our Castle La Crosse cookbook series, we are working on it, I promise! It takes a while and of course being the royal taste-tester, I’m taking my time giving my approval for each item. We are open to suggestions or requests, our favorite and most popular Castle breakfast dishes will be included. Plus, some holiday favorites and a recipe or two from Victorian times when N.B. and Jesse Holway built their magnificent stone castle. Castle La Crosse has always been a residence, first for the Holway family, then the Bishop of the La Crosse Diocese, then a short list of families and children until we finally turned the key in the front door lock ourselves and made this wonderful house our home. We always planned to open it up for the public to enjoy for the first time in its history, since then hundreds of couples, families and individual travelers have spent the night and enjoyed our amazing breakfasts. Holiday traditions can start with going to the same place each year, something comforting and familiar, many guests have made Castle La Crosse their go-to getaway spot. La Crosse is ready for travelers, too. As we look forward to the new year ahead, we prepare to celebrate in grand style the 130th birthday of Castle La Crosse. Brandon does an amazing job in our kitchen. Keeping a close eye on what is freshest in the market and trying new things as they come along. La Crosse has some of the best organic and sustainable farms surrounding it and we are lucky to share that bounty with you!
Cookies are always a treat, I will grab one on the go or curl up with a cup of Earl Gray and one of the many different cookies Brandon bakes. We thought it was time to share a recipe in our blog posts, what better time than the holiday season!
How about Lemon poppy-seed cookies? They are delicious, when warm they are comforting and the lemon reminds us of sunshine on cold winter days. Enjoy!
Lemon Poppy-seed Cookies
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3-4 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (2 or 3 lemons)
8 ounces butter (2 sticks)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (plus more for sprinkling)
- preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, cook juice until reduced by about half. Add 1 stick of butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: Flour, baking powder and salt. Cream the remaining stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the egg and lemon butter mixture. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and 2 tsp of the lemon zest. Mix in the flour, powder and salt mixture. Add poppy seeds.
- Stir together the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of lemon zest. Roll spoonfulls of the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls, roll them in the sugar lemon mixture. Place the balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Now the fun part…Press each with the flat end of a glass dipped in the sugar mixture until each cookie is 1/4 inch thick. Note: Press one, then the glass will be sticky enough to dip into the sugar mixture, then press that one again. Move on to the rest of the balls, flattening them all and sprinkle with the remaining poppy seeds.
- Bake until just browned around the bottom edge, about 10-11 minutes should work. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container up to a week, if they last that long.
