Believe it or not, I am half Italian. I joke because people more often guess Scottish or Irish with my red hair and fair skin. So needless to say, when my husband suggested this lemon cookie recipe with an Italian twist, I could not pass it up! The ricotta cheese looks intimidating but it adds a cake-like soft texture to the cookies. The recipe calls for two lemons for zesting but I used only one and found the flavor just as powerful. I also used low fat ricotta cheese to cut calories.
I encourage all the foodies out there to channel their inner Italian and give this easy recipe a shot! Buon Appetito!
Ingredients
Cookies
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Glaze
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cookies
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Then, in a large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until mixed in. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine, then stir in the dry ingredients that you set aside earlier.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 20 minutes.
Glaze
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about ½-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours and enjoy!
(Recipe borrowed from Food Network)
jon dibenedetto says
Those look great! I’m going to try and make them soon!