Recipe of the Month!
Gail Blakely
Culinary Director Emeritus
Gail BlakelyMarch 2025:
RECIPE OF THE MONTH FROM GAIL BLAKELY
Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour (286 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta (drained if wet)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Line a baking pan with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix together the sugar, butter, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest, until the mixture is light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Beat in the ricotta, egg, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and mix until combined. Add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Cover the cookie dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator and use a cookie scoop to measure out about a tablespoon of batter and roll into a ball. Place on prepared baking sheets leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the bottom of the cookie starts to brown slightly. (The cookies will not change color much). Cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. Hold the cooled cookie upside down and dip the top of the cookie in the glaze. Return to the wire rack to dry completely.
Notes
Weigh out the flour or spoon it into a measuring cup for an accurate amount.
Use room temperature unsalted butter.
If your ricotta cheese appears wet, strain it before using. Most store-bought ricotta cheeses will not need to be strained.
Use an organic lemon if possible since you will be using the zest of the lemon. One large lemon should give you enough juice and zest for the entire recipe.
You will need to chill the dough before baking so that the cookies don’t spread. This also helps when rolling into a ball.
Lemon Ricotta Cookies will not change much color when they are baking. To know they are done, look for slightly brown bottoms.
Let the cookies cool completely before adding the glaze.
You can either spoon the glaze on top of the cookies or flip over the cookies and dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze.
Let the glaze set completely before storing the cookies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.
Recipe courtesy of https://thisitaliankitchen.com
