Angela’s Ricotta Cookies
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These homemade Ricotta Cookies are topped with lemon icing and are the perfect little treat, where the tang of fresh lemons meets the richness of ricotta in a sweet treat that’s as perfect for a cozy afternoon as it is for a festive gathering. These are the soft, cakey end of the Italian cookie spectrum. For the opposite — something that snaps — see my pizzelle recipe made with oil instead of butter.
The Ingredients
Full ingredients with measures are listed in the recipe card.
Ricotta. This matters more than anything else in the recipe. I use whole-milk ricotta but don’t stick to any particular brand for this recipe. The thing to watch is moisture, not fat. If your ricotta looks wet or has liquid pooling on top, drain it in a fine-mesh strainer for 20 to 30 minutes. Extra liquid makes the dough stickier, and the cookies spread.
Butter. Use it softened, not melted. Melted or greasy butter makes the dough too loose to scoop cleanly.
Flour. Weigh it if you can (500 g). Scooped cups can pack in too much flour, and that turns these from tender and cakey to dry and domed.
Lemon. The lemon is only in the icing. The cookie itself tastes of vanilla and sweet ricotta, and the glaze adds brightness. It’s a different icing from the glaze on my Italian wedding cookies, which skip the ricotta and use anise or almond extract.
How to Make
Begin by making the dough. Cream the butter and sugar, add eggs followed by the ricotta and vanilla.
Add flour and then mix. I like to refrigerate all my cookie doughs as it reduces spreading and improves results. Then portion and bake until very lightly golden.
Remove cookies from oven, and make the lemon icing by mixing the powdered sugar, lemon juice, butter, milk, vanilla, and salt.
Frost your cookies, and enjoy!
Baking Tips for Ricotta Cookies
The cookies bake up quick! They are done in 15 minutes and are a very pale yellow when finished. I think the most challenging part of baking this cookie is that the dough is quite sticky. I use a cookie scoop to address this challenge. The use of a cookie scoop works like a charm and helps to make all your cookies a consistent size.
Other ways to work with sticky cookie dough like this one include using a pastry bag to pipe small mounds for each cookie, using cooking spray on your hands to reduce stickiness, adding a bit of powdered sugar or flour to your hands, or even wetting hands helps!
Troubleshooting
- Cookies spread flat: The dough was too warm, the ricotta was too wet, or the butter was too soft. Chill the dough and drain the ricotta next time.
- Dough too sticky to handle: A cookie scoop is the easiest fix. Lightly wet or oiled hands work too.
- Icing slid off: The cookies weren’t fully cool. Even slightly warm cookies melt the glaze. Or the icing is too thin.
- Icing too thin or too thick: Add powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time to thicken it, or milk a teaspoon at a time to thin it. It should be thick enough to hold on a spoon.
- Cookies browned: They’re overbaked. Pull them when they’re pale yellow and just set on top. The bottoms should be only faintly golden.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make the dough ahead. Refrigerate the dough in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Cold dough is easier to scoop and spreads less. If it’s too firm, let it sit out for a few minutes before scooping.
Freeze the dough. Scoop it into balls, freeze on a sheet pan, then bag them. Bake from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes to the baking time. Frozen ricotta cookie dough is best used within 2 to 3 months. Ricotta holds a lot of moisture, and after longer freezing, it can separate and make the dough crumbly.
Freeze the baked cookies, unfrosted. This is how I do it. Freeze plain, cooled cookies for at least a month. Thaw them at room temperature in the container, then ice them the day you serve them. The icing holds up better than it does when frozen already on the cookie.
Stacking. Let the icing set fully before stacking. Once it’s set, layer the cookies between sheets of parchment.
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📖 Recipe
Angela’s Lemon Ricotta Cookies
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Ingredients
For the cookie dough
- 3 large (3 large) eggs
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter cubed
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- 1 pound (454 g) whole-milk ricotta cheese drained if watery
- 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 4 cups (500 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon ) salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon ) baking soda
For the Icing
- 1 pound (454 g) powdered sugar plus more if icing is too thin
- 1/4 teaspoon (1/4 teaspoon ) salt
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp (30 g) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) milk Up to 4 tablespoons
For decorating (optional)
- lemon zest
Instructions
For the Cookie Dough
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream sugar and butter together until combined. Add eggs and continue to mix until well combined
- Add ricotta and vanilla and mix for another minute
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined
- OPTIONAL: Although you may bake right away, refrigerating the dough in an airtight container for at least 2 hours (or up to 3 days) will reduce spread, make the dough easier to handle, and improve flavor.
To Bake the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven
- Drop cookie dough or roll into balls (my preference) onto an ungreased cookie sheet (use parchment paper if you have it) and bake for 15 minutes. (if you refrigerated the dough, allow the dough to warm up just enough so it is easy to shape/handle.
- Do not overbake! cookies will be very light in color
For the Icing
- Place powdered sugar in large bowl and whisk to break up any clumps.
- Add salt, melted butter, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the icing is smooth yet still quite thick.
- Adjust accordingly by adding more powdered sugar if it is too thin.
To Decorate
- Wait until cookies are completely cooled before icing or the icing will melt off.
- Before icing dries, feel free to decorate with additional lemon zest if you'd like.
Storage
- After icing, let stand for 30 minutes to firm up the icing before storing.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes, the dough freezes well! Scoop it into balls, freeze them on a sheet pan, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes. For the best texture, use the dough within 2 to 3 months. After that, the ricotta can separate and make the dough crumbly. Enjoy!
Can I make these gluten free with gf flour? Thank you
I haven’t tried it, but it should work if you use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend (with xanthan gum). I’d also suggest chilling the dough for about 20 minutes since the dough may be a little softer without the gluten. If you try it, please let us know how it worked out.
If you freeze the cookies do you do it with them unfrosted?
Yes that’s what I do..👍🏼