Lemon Ricotta Cookies (Soft and Fluffy!)

Make lemon ricotta cookies when you need :

• A bite-size after dinner dessert 
• tea time biscuit to enjoy yourself or for your next tea time party
• A healthy cookie to snack on (kids absolutely LOVE them)
• Delicious cookie for your holiday cookie tray
• A homemade gift (easy to make, looks good and tastes great!)

Recipe In A Nutshell

• Mix the ingredients for the dough.
• Knead very briefly.
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1 inch thickness (1.3 cm).
• Cut cookies with a cookie cutter.
• Arrange on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated to 350F (175C) oven for 12-15 minutes.
• Let cool. In the meantime prepare the glaze.
• Cover with the glaze and decorate with color sprinkles.

OVEN TEMPERATURE: 350F (175C)

TIME IN THE OVEN: 12-15 minutes

RECIPE YIELD: about 40 cookies

• Ricotta cheese - fresh full fat ricotta cheese, excess liquid drained.
• Mascarpone cheese - Italian mascarpone cheese, excess liquid drained. We’ll use it both for the cookie dough and for the glaze.
• Eggs - at room temperature.
• Sugar - my recipe uses minimum amount of sugar to make perfectly sweet and balanced cookies. If you want you can add a little more sugar. Keep in mind though, that the lemon glaze on the top will add sweetness as it’s made of powdered sugar as the main ingredient.
• Flour - all purpose flour, preferably sifted.
• Baking powder and baking soda - to help cookies puff in the oven.
• Organic lemons - it’s essential to use unwaxed lemons with edible zest. For the recipe you’ll need zest from all lemons and juice from one. As a variation to the recipe, you can use organic oranges.
• Confectioners’ sugar - for the glaze
• Color sprinkles  - for decoration.

Plain or Fluted cookie cutter 2 or 2 ½ inch (5-6 cm)

Make the cookie dough

In a large bowl combine ricotta and mascarpone cheese previously drained from excess water.

Add eggs, sugar, a pinch of salt and lemon zest from 3 lemons. Mix well until combined. Add lemon juice and mix again.

Add half of all the flour and all the baking powder and mix until combined.
Pay attention to not overmix nor knead the dough.

Once you get a smooth mix add the remaining flour and baking soda.

Using a silicone spatula fold the flour in the dough until you get a rough dough then transfer it to a work surface.

Using a dough scraper finish forming the dough.

It should not be perfectly smooth as we’ll smooth it out further with a rolling pin. Most important is that there are no dry chunks of flour left.

• Very lightly flour the work surface and the rolling pin.
• Roll the dough until it’s ½ inch (13 millimeters) thick.
• Using a 2 - 2 ½ inch (5-6 cm) cookie cutter cut out cookies. Each cookie should weight about 1 ounce or 30 grams.

• Put all the dough scraps together and knead very briefly just until they come together. Roll again on a lightly floured surface and cut out the cookies.
• Repeat the process until you’ve finished all the dough.
• Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper slightly distanced apart (the cookies will puff up in the oven).

Bake

Bake cookies in a preheated to 350F (175C) oven for 12-15 minutes.

Once cookies are out of the oven let them cool completely.

Glaze and decorate

• Mix confectioners’ sugar with lemon juice and mascarpone cheese until you get a thick glaze (should not be runny!)
• Start with minimum amount of lemon juice.
• Add lemon juice if the glaze is too thick or more powdered sugar if the glaze is too runny.

Once cookies are completely cool, spoon the glaze on each cookie.

Keep in mind that if the glaze is of the right consistency, it will naturally spread over the cookie after a minute or so.

The glaze should not drip immediately - if this happens the glaze needs more powdered sugar.

TOP TIP: Cover the cookies with the glaze in small batches (7-10 cookies).

Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles immediately once you’re done with the batch.

If the glaze starts to dry the sprinkles will not stick to the glaze anymore.

Finish decorating the remaining cookies.

Choose seasonal sugar sprinkles for the most festive look and feel:

• Fall Leaves Sprinkles
• Christmas Tree Holidays Sprinkles
• Heart-Shaped Valentines Day Sprinkles
• Easter Holiday Sprinkles
• Gold Star Sprinkles - perfect for any occasion

If you're making these cookies as a gift or planning to serve for the guests, it's best to cover them with the glaze a few hours before serving.

Sugar sprinkles of glazed cookies might bleed if they sit for long.

When preparing to transport glazed cookies it's best to arrange them in a single layer or stack layering with parchment paper between the layers so they do not stick together.

How To Store

Lemon ricotta cookies can be stored:

• for 2 days at room temperature WITH the glaze.
• for 3 days in the fridge WITHOUT the glaze. Sprinkles will bleed once cookies are refrigerated so it's best store them plain and glaze before serving. You can also serve them simply dusted with powdered sugar
• for 1 month in air-tight container in the freezer WITHOUT the glaze .

Make Ahead

Lemon Ricotta Cookies can be made up to 1 month in advance.

Bake the cookies and let them cool completely.Do NOT cover with the glaze. Arrange in an airtight container or zip-lock bag and store in the freezer. When ready to consumer, thaw, cover with the glaze and decorate with sugar sprinkles.