Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. You don’t want it to bubble, so as to not lose any of the liquid in the butter. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl and let it cool down to room temperature in the fridge. Takes about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl add the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Rub it together to release all of the lemon zest flavor, until it looks like wet sand.

Once the butter has reached room temperature add the lemon granulated sugar and with rubber spatula whisk it together for 1 minute. Alternatively, mix it together in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix it in until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt. Add the dry ingredients and with a rubber spatula mix it together until combined.

Using a 2 tbsp/ 1.3 ounce/53 g cookie scoop, scoop out 11 cookies and place them on a tray lined with baking paper. Then roll them between your hands into a ball. Place the prepared cookies in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 180ºC / 355ºF and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.

Once the 30 minutes has passed, place 6 cookies on a lined baking sheet and put the remaining 5 back in the fridge until the first batch has finished baking. Bake one tray at a time for 10-11 minutes

Once baked, let them cool down on the baking tray for 3 minutes as they still will be soft when they are done. After they have cooled down a bit, use a spatula to lift them onto a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, whip together all of the ingredients until it reaches stiff peaks and it holds its shape. If making ahead of serving, place in the fridge, covered by plastic wrap, until ready to assemble.

When ready to serve, add the cream to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip e.g. Wilton 2A. Pipe the cheesecake frosting on top of the cookies in a swirl, starting from the middle and moving outwards. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and decorate with lemon zest or lemon slices.