Italian Ricotta Cookies
Updated Jan. 22, 2025
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus 2 hours’ chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2sticks (1 cup) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 425grams sugar (about 2 cups)
- 1¾cups ricotta cheese (15 ounces), preferably fresh
- Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
- 4teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2large eggs
- 480grams all-purpose flour (about 4 cups)
- 10grams baking soda (2 teaspoons)
- 4grams fine sea salt (about ¾ teaspoon)
- 450grams confectioners’ sugar (about 4 cups)
- 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼cup to ½ cup milk, as needed
- Colored sprinkles or sanding sugar, optional
Nutritional analysis per serving (72 servings)
111 calories; 4 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 69 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Using an electric mixer, cream 2 sticks butter with sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add ricotta, lemon zest and 2½ teaspoons vanilla and beat well. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula, then beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Cover dough and chill for at least 2 hours and up to a week.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 350 degrees and line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liners. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake until pale golden on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.
- Step 3
Melt remaining tablespoon butter. Whisk confectioners’ sugar to break up any large lumps, then whisk in melted butter, lemon juice, remaining 1½ teaspoons vanilla and enough milk to make a spreadable icing. Spread icing on cooled cookies, decorate with sprinkles or sanding sugar, if desired, then let set for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
I accidentally added the full 4 tsp of vanilla to the dough. It worked out fine as my Italian friends told me this was the best version of this cookie they have ever had.
This is a terrific recipe and my cookies were a huge hit. They turned out beautifully. After reading the comments, I used all 4 tsp vanilla extract in my dough, and an additional 1 1/2 tsp in the icing. One tip - make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to bake these. Each tray will only be in the oven about 15 minutes, but chances are you will have 4+ trays, and you want to leave a bit of time for your oven to come back up to temp every time you open it. Will def make again!
These were too big for my taste and spread out too much, so I used a couple of teaspoons per cookie, put the cookies on the sheets in the freezer for a few minutes before baking, and kept the bowl of dough in the freezer as well. Finally, I turned the heat down to 325 degrees--all to much better effect! Took about 13 minutes to bake. Can't wait to frost them.
I wish I could give this more stars. I made these cookies and they turned out so beautiful and tasty. My family (who are all about the chocolate chip cookies) loved them as well. My very picky step son gave them a 9 out of 10. My Mom gave them a 10. That's a really big deal in this house. I made a couple different types. I used orange instead of lemon, and my hubby wanted to add chocolate, so I decorated these like black and white cookies. They are just perfection! Thank you!
I have substituted a strong lemon juice for the zest, but you might have to slightly increase the amount of dry ingredients. I add a drop of yellow food coloring to the frosting. These cookies are always a hit with my friends and family.
So first, this recipe makes a thousand cookies. I unwisely doubled it, overflowing the capacity of my mixer. Additionally, these cookies are perhaps better categorized as small cakes, which, from comments, seems to be the way it should be vs an accident formed by doubling or improper mixing. Anyway! Here to tell you 1) that these are not your archetypal cookies and you may have to rearrange your thinking to accommodate, and 2) don't dare double or you'll be making cookies for a century.