lemon cookies

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

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This week I’ve had no time to really cook, but have had a million ideas going through my mind of things I want to eat. Finally, the weekend is here…and with it, time! The first thing I got to work on was these Lemon Ricotta Cookies that I have been craving ever since I discovered them around Christmas when I made them for our family’s yearly Cookie Exchange Party. I absolutely love lemon desserts and these cookies are so moist and fluffy with that delicious mix of sweet and tangy. Yum!

This recipe calls for whole-milk Ricotta cheese in the batter, which gives it this moist cake-like texture. Here in Spain, every now and again I have a hard time finding certain ingredients; Ricotta cheese is one of them. I have a book called The Food Substitutions Bible, which helps me solve problems like this one, so I actually used a cheese just like cottage cheese and used an immersion blender to make it smooth like Ricotta before adding it. They tasted exactly like I remembered them, so if you ever have that problem, now you know!

Here’s the recipe:

Cookies:

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, room temp.
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 15 oz. container of whole-milk ricotta cheese
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 lemon, zested

* * * * * *

Preheat oven to 375º F (190º C)

Cookies:

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add Ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Then, add in the dry ingredients.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon (about 2 tbsp) dough onto the sheet. Bake for about 15 min, until lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest until smooth. Once the cookies are completely cooled, spoon about 1/2 tsp of glaze onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. And…Enjoy!!

*Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentis and cookingchanneltv.com (link)