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–+ servings
Stack of finished Lemon Ricotta cookies on a Christmas dish.
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4.88 from 8 votes

My Real Lemon Ricotta Cookies

What you put into a cookie is what comes out. Using the freshest ingredients gives you a traditional lemon ricotta cookie your Italian grandmother will love.
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Bake Time15 minutes
Chill12 hours
Total Time12 hours 35 minutes
Course: Cookies, Holiday
Cuisine: Italian
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 212kcal

Ingredients

COOKIE DOUGH

  • ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted 1 stick
  • 2 cups (400 g) Sugar white 400 g
  • 2 (2) Eggs room temperature
  • 3 Tablespoon (3 Tablespoon) Lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Lemon zest packed
  • 15 ounces (15 ounces) Ricotta cheese whole milk
  • 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) All-purpose flour 300 g
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Baking powder 4 g
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt 5 g

GLAZE

  • 1 ½ cup (180 g) Powdered sugar 188 g
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Lemon zest packed
  • 3 Tablespoon (3 Tablespoon) Lemon juice

Instructions

COOKIE DOUGH

  • Weigh or measure into a bowl the flour, baking powder, salt, and whisk to blend than set aside.
  • Take one lemon and zest into a small bowl. I then cut the lemon in half and cut off the ends and juice both halves. One lemon should give you just a little more than three tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
  • I use a KitchenAid Stand Mixer on medium speed to blend the sugar and butter together. I blended it for about 6 minutes.
  • Add one egg at a time making sure each egg is incorporated, then add the ricotta cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice and blend thoroughly for about 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Take the bowl from the mixer and get a nice spatula (I have a one piece spatula I love) and fold in the flour, salt, and baking powder mixture till it has all been incorporated. Take plastic wrap and tightly cover the bowl and put into the refrigerator. This dough needs to be in the refrigerator overnight so I made the dough after dinner and baked the cookies the next afternoon.

NEXT DAY

  • Preheat oven to 375° Line 2 cookie pans with parchment paper.
  • I use an OXO medium cookie scoop and scoop 12 mounds onto a pan. Bake for 15 minutes and leave on the pan after taking them out of the oven for at least 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. They will look pale in color, but the outside will be set.

GLAZE

  • Zest and juice one whole lemon and add to the powdered sugar. After the cookies have cooled, take a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon of the glaze and add to the top of the cookie, use the back of the measuring spoon to spread it around the top of the cookie gently. Let the glaze set for 2 hours before storing in a container.

Nutrition

Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 217IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg