Italian Ricotta Cookies
Updated Jan. 22, 2025
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus 2 hours’ chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
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.
Powered by
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!
The millennial thing is tiring. I love anise and I'm a "millennial." Maybe your coworker's just a jerk who doesn't like liquorice.
Yummy cookies. Easy to make and notes were super helpful. How many cookies are in a serving?
I must confess that the stickiness and copious quantities of this dough struck us as features, not bugs, given how delicious it is. Quite a treat to lick the bowl, spatula, or post-dough-ball hands clean!
These were so good! I tweaked the recipe slightly: For half batch .5 I did 150 grams of sugar and I also cut the sugar in the frosting and added extra lemon juice as someone else mentioned. Last thing I topped the frosted cookies with salted lemon zest :)