Description
Ina Garten’s lemon ricotta cookies blend zesty citrus with creamy cheese in a delightful Italian-inspired treat. Simple ingredients create a melt-in-your-mouth experience you’ll savor with each sweet, tangy bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 (15 oz/425 g) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 stick (113 g/4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 tbsps (90 ml) fresh lemon juice
- Zest of 3 lemons
Instructions
- Lemon-Sugar Preparation: Vigorously massage granulated sugar with lemon zest in a mixing bowl until fragrant and slightly moist, releasing essential citrus oils.
- Dry Ingredient Blending: Thoroughly combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, ensuring a uniform, lump-free mixture.
- Butter Creaming: Utilize an electric mixer to whip softened butter with lemon-sugar blend until achieving a light, airy texture with a pale yellow hue.
- Egg Integration: Methodically incorporate eggs, one at a time, blending completely to create a smooth, homogeneous batter.
- Wet Ingredient Fusion: Gently fold ricotta cheese and lemon juice into the mixture, creating a glossy, cohesive consistency.
- Dough Formation: Delicately fold dry ingredients into wet mixture, stirring minimally to maintain a tender cookie texture.
- Cookie Shaping: Carefully drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, positioning them with ample spacing.
- Baking Process: Roast in a preheated 375°F oven for 13-15 minutes, watching for golden-brown edges and set centers.
- Cooling Technique: Rest cookies on baking sheets for 20 minutes, allowing them to stabilize and prevent crumbling.
- Glaze Creation: Whisk powdered sugar with lemon juice and zest until achieving a smooth, translucent coating.
- Finishing Touch: Dip cooled cookie tops into glaze, letting excess drip away, then place on wire rack or wax paper to set completely.
Notes
- Zest Technique: Rubbing lemon zest with sugar releases essential oils, intensifying the citrus flavor and creating a fragrant base for the cookies.
- Ricotta Magic: Use room temperature ricotta for smoother incorporation and a lighter, more tender cookie texture.
- Mixing Mastery: Avoid overmixing the dough to prevent tough cookies; mix just until ingredients are combined for a delicate crumb.
- Glaze Precision: Let cookies cool completely before glazing to ensure the topping sets perfectly and doesn’t slide off the surface.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 24
- Calories: 179
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 126 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg