YUMM! Who doesn’t love a lemon cookie? Since you’re here I’m guessing you also enjoy that tart-sweet combo in a perfectly puffy cookie.
Giada calls this her “New and Improved” recipe, the difference between the two are the type of ricotta and chilling the cookie dough. I’ve road tested the new edition a few times and every time they turn out perfectly and taste delicious.
Why I love this recipe – one – it taste great (obvi) two – 99% of the time I already have the ingredients in my pantry/fridge, three – it’s easy with minimal dishes to clean and four – it makes a ton of cookies, to eat or to share, you’re choice!
Measuring DrY ingreedients
Fresh Lemons ready to squeeze
Starting to combine the wet ingredient
Waiting on the glaze to cool and harden
SERVING SIZE:
45 Cookies
Stuff You’ll Need
For the cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese, such as Galbani
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested (my favorite zester)
For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
How to:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then in the bowl of an electric mixer (KD’s Notes – I use a hand mixer and plastic bowl) combine the butter and the sugar.
Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing between additions until well incorporated.
Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine.
Fold in the dry ingredients, small amounts at a time.
Tightly cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (Krista’s Notes – sometimes I don’t have time to refrigerate overnight. I improvise by putting the dough in the freezer for about 2 hours. It doesn’t seem to change the texture or consistency)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough (about 1 tablespoon for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, until cooked through but still pale. (Note – they go from done to burnt really quick, test with a toothpick at 10 min) Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 15 minutes. Continue with the remaining dough.
For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cooled cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.
Do these hold up well freezing?
Hi Debby – These will last several weeks frozen in an airtight container but I would wait to put the icing on them until you are ready to serve. I would also freeze them as soon as they cool down, to preserve the freshness. hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions!
I made this recipe twice the first I didn’t refrigerate them and they came out perfectly. The second time I chilled the over night they were flat. they are delicious either way but when flat they don’t look good. do you drain the ricotta?
Hi Susan, thank you for tying these ricotta cookies! I’m glad to hear they turned out great the first time! I do not drain the ricotta. The refrigeration shouldn’t effect the rise, my thoughts would be maybe your baking powder went bad or most likely the sugar and eggs were a bit over creamed, this will cause cookies to fall fall flat after baking. Hope that helps, and thank you for the feedback!