Description
Italian ricotta cookies are your dream cookie if you love bright citrus flavors that aren’t get-me-to-the-dentist sweet. Get a cup of espresso; you’ll have something to enjoy it with in no time.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 1 stick butter, at room temperature (113 g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 g)
- 15 oz container whole milk ricotta (425 g)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract
- Grated zest from 1 large orange
- Grated zest from 1 lemon
- 2 and 1/4 cups flour (295 g)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Ricotta Citrus Glaze
- 1/4 cup butter (57 g)
- 2 tablespoons ricotta (from the container above)
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice (from the orange above)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (from the lemon above)
- 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar (180 g)
Instructions
Make the batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the ricotta to save for the glaze.
- Beat the butter, sugar, and the rest of the ricotta together in a stand mixer bowl or with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla, and the orange and lemon zests.
- Mix the flour with the baking powder in a small bowl just to distribute the baking powder well.
- Add the flour into the wet ingredients. Fold the flour in by hand just until the flour disappears.
Bake the cookies
- Drop about tablespoon sized scoops of batter off the end of a spoon onto the baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, rotating the trays top to bottom and turning them back to front halfway through the baking. They won’t get much color in the baking, but you’ll know they’re done when you can poke them in the middle and the tops spring back.
- Let the cookies cool on their baking sheets while you make the glaze.
Glaze
- Beat the remaining butter with the reserved ricotta until smooth. Beat in the lemon and orange juice, and then add in the powdered sugar a bit at a time. Mix until you get a smooth glaze.
- Dip the tops of the warm cookies in the glaze, and then set them back on the baking sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few sprinkles.
- Let the glaze harden before serving the cookies.
- Cookies are best served the day they’re made, but you can keep any leftovers in the fridge for a couple days. You can also freeze these cookies unglazed in one layer in a plastic bag for up to 2 months. Thaw frozen cookies and then glaze them before serving with a good cup of coffee.
Notes
What if I can’t find whole milk ricotta?: If you can only find low-fat ricotta, scoop it into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Set the bowl in your fridge overnight. Dump out any accumulated liquid from the bowl and use the ricotta per the recipe. You’ll lose a little moisture, but it won’t be enough to make a difference here. Like many Italian cookies, this recipe is quite forgiving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
