Lemon Ricotta Cookies (Italian Recipe)
These Lemon Ricotta Cookies (Italian Recipe) are little pillows of soft, melt-in-your-mouth lemon cookies full of real lemon flavor. It is a great recipe for all lemon lovers and cookie monsters.
Servings: 48 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 stick unsalted butter 1/2 cup, softened, *see notes on butter
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 15-ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest about 1 lemon, zested
For the glaze:
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest about 1 lemon, zested
- Optional: sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
For the cookies
- Line 2 baking sheets (or cookie sheets) with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric mixer combine the butter and the sugar. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing between additions until well incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift in the dry ingredients into the bowl of the wet ingredients. 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.
For 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.
Notes
Butter: 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!
Storage: Store lemon ricotta cookies in an air-tight 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
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
