Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze, a delicious Italian dessert that goes down wonderfully well in Spring time and particularly at Easter, but also as delicious all year round, with the holiday season being the peak of the cookie baking. The cookies have a cakey, moist and light texture, with an intense lemon kick, while the glaze is beautifully zesty and smooth. Top them with sprinkles, lemon zest or edible flowers, and you have a fantastic seasonal dessert that everybody loves.
Unlike traditional cookies that have either a chewy or crunchy texture, these beautiful ricotta cookies remind me more of a classic lemon drizzle cake, given that they have a lovely moist and light cakey texture.
It's such a wonderful bake, extremely easy to whip up, with simple ingredients that are easily-available, and foolproof results that will exceed your expectations. Using ricotta in desserts makes such a difference when it comes to a light, moist crumb.
These are the kind of cookies that you can serve at any special occasions, and can be decorated accordingly. I decorated some of mine with Easter egg-shaped sprinkles, some with lemon zest, as I wanted them to be part of my Easter Recipe menu.
But, you can also add them to your Mother's Day menu, and decorate them with edible flowers, mini sugar pearls or add a touch of lavander to the glaze. They would make a fantastic sweet breakast or brunch idea, or can be added to your afternoon tea menu.
During the festive season, you can swap the lemon flavour with orange one, and decorate with seasonal sprinkles. So many choices, and such a simple job!
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- ricotta - drain as much liquid as you can from the ricotta, as excess liquid can alter the dough consistency. We need the cookies with be beautifully risen, rather than flat
- flour - I used plain flour instead of self-raising, and added baking powder for a nice lift
- baking powder - makes the cookies light and beautifully risen
- butter - at room temperature, I prefer using salted butter, but unsalted can be used too. In that case, you can add a pinch of salt to the dry ingredients
- egg - at room temperature
- lemon - I used the zest for the cookie dough, and the juice for the icing, to make basic ricotta cookies, swap the lemon flavour with vanilla, and the juice from the icing with milk
- icing sugar - or confectioners' sugar, used for the icing
- lemon extract - optional, but it does add a good flavour to the cookies
- granulated sugar - caster sugar also ok
- sprinkles - for decorating, they can be seasonal sprinkles, so they can served at every occasion
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to cream them
- add the egg, and beat again to incorporate
- zest the lemon and add it to the bowl together with the lemon extract and ricotta cheese
- sift in the flour, add the baking powder and use a spatula to mix everything into a sticky dough
- refrigerate for at least 1 hour, then shape balls the size of a walnut
- transfer them to 2 large baking trays, making sure you leave at least an inch between the cookies, and bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit)
- while the cookies are cooling down, make the icing
- sift the icing sugar, add enough lemon juice to get a thick and smooth, but pourable glaze
- glaze each cookie, then decorate with sprinkles or lemon zest
Expert tips
Refrigerating the dough helps with the texture of the cookies. Because ricotta adds moisture, refrigerating the dough ensures that the cookies hold their shape, and make the dough much easier to handle.
Make sure you allow the cookies to cool down completely before glazing them, if they are still warm, the glaze will run off them, and make a mess. Decorate with sprinkles as soon as you glaze the cookies, once the glaze sets, the sprinkles won't stick anymore.
Do not make the icing in advance, otherwise it will set before you can decorate the cookies. Make it just before they need decorating.
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Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 250 g plain flour (2 cups)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 110 g soft butter (½ cup)
- 200 g granulated sugar (1 cup)
- zest from one lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 170 g ricotta cheese (â…” cup)
For decorating
- 200 g icing sugar (confectioner's sugar, 1 â…” cups)
- juice from one lemon
- sprinkles (optional)
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Instructions
- To make the cookies, add the soft butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to cream them.
- Crack in the egg, and beat again until you get a smooth, creamy texture.
- Add the well-drained ricotta, lemon zest and lemon extract, sift in the flour and baking powder, and use a spatula to mix everything into a sticky dough.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, making sure the bowl is covered with a kitchen towel.
- Flour 2 baking trays, and use your hands to shape walnut-sized balls out of the dough.
- Transfer the dough balls onto the baking trays, making sure you leave at least one inch between each cookie.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 15 minutes or until golden.
- Remove the trays from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool down in the trays for 5 minutes, before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool down completely.
- Once the are fully cooled, make the icing sugar. Sift the icing, and add enough lemon juice to make a smooth icing that is pourable, but thick enough not to run off the cookies.
- Sprinkle the sprinkles around, and allow the icing to set before serving.
Video
Notes
- Refrigerating the dough helps with the texture of the cookies. Because ricotta adds moisture, refrigerating the dough ensures that the cookies hold their shape, and make the dough much easier to handle.
- Make sure you allow the cookies to cool down completely before glazing them, if they are still warm, the glaze will run off them, and make a mess. Decorate with sprinkles as soon as you glaze the cookies, once the glaze sets, the sprinkles won't stick anymore.
- Do not make the icing in advance, otherwise it will set before you can decorate the cookies. Make it just before they need decorating.
Nutrition
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