Lemon Ricotta Cookies
These Italian lemon ricotta cookies are little pillows of soft, melt-in-your-mouth lemon flavor that have an amazing cake-like texture. It's the perfect dessert for lemon lovers and cookie monsters!
Servings: 48 cookies
Equipment
- hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (see notes)
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 15-ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice from 1-1½ lemons
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Glaze
- 1¼ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest from 1 lemon
- sprinkles for decorating (optional)
Instructions
Making the Cookies
- Line two 11x17-inch baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Beat the butter and the sugar on medium speed with a stand or hand mixer until it's light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between additions until well incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, then sift the mixture into the bowl of the wet ingredients and stir until incorporated. Tightly cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- Scoop the dough (about 1 heaping tablespoon for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until cooked through but still pale (do not overbake!). Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Making the Glaze
- For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Dip each cooled cookie in the small bowl of lemon glaze. You can also spoon the glaze on top of the cookie with the back of a spoon.
- Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours at room temperature. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Your cookies may turn out flatter if you use butter with a very high fat content, making them spread out rather than stay puffed and round. I recommended a lower butterfat content for a puffy texture; look for butter such as Land O'Lakes for this recipe rather than Kerrygold!
- Use room temperature ingredients. They mix better and bake more evenly.
- Chill the dough. This helps the cookies keep their shape while baking.
- Don’t overbake. Bake just until the edges are lightly golden for soft, tender cookies.
- Store lemon ricotta cookies in an airtight container and keep them in a cool place for about 3 days for the freshest taste. You can also freeze unglazed cookies and then defrost and glaze them on the day you plan to serve the cookies.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 60mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 59IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.3mg
