Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

These cookies are called cookies, but texture wise they're more like little cakes, soft and pillowy, not crumbly. Whatever you want to call them, they are delicious. They have a nice, tender crumb that's like a more cakey version of a sugar cookie -- only they're infused with lemon flavor.


This isn't the first time I've made these cookies, but the last time I made them was a year ago. Because I had a bunch of Meyer lemons (from making preserved lemons) on hand, I wanted to make them again. I had a small panic attack when I realized that I'd never posted about these -- I use this blog to store recipes I've tried and loved -- and who the hell knew where I'd gotten the recipe in the first place?!?! I beat myself up for about 10 minutes for being so careless as to not keep some sort of record for a recipe I'd loved, then calmed down and thought about it, and remembered. WHEW. Never doing that to myself again!


It was remembering the ricotta part that was key. If you search for "lemon cookies" on the Internet, a whole ton of stuff comes up. But if you search for "lemon ricotta cookies," the one I was looking for, by Giada De Laurentiis, pops right up. She even has an enticing little video to go with these.


They really are that simple to make. Most of the ingredients are ones you probably already have in your pantry and fridge, with the exception of the ricotta. Heck, maybe you have that lying around all the time too. I didn't, so I had to run out and get a tub.


I adapted the cookies slightly by using Meyer lemons, because that's what I had on hand, but I used regular lemons the first time and it was just as fabulous. In fact, if anything, regular lemons made the end result more lemony, maybe because they're not as sweet and subtle as Meyer lemons. I also accidentally made them healthier, because the recipe calls for whole-milk ricotta, and I thought I picked up a tub of that, but it turned out to be part skim. The good news? I didn't notice a difference at all. So yay, fewer calories and you don't have to pay the price in terms of flavor. (Don't worry, there's still plenty of "good stuff" in them to make them delicious!)


Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze (recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 15oz container 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

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (using a stand or electric mixer), about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated.
4. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine.
5. Stir in the dry ingredients.
6. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and back to front about halfway through, until slightly golden at the edges.
7. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
8. While the cookies are cooling, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Add more lemon juice, a few drops at a time, to thin if necessary.
9. When the cookies have cooled, spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours before packing them into an airtight container.