Lemon Ricotta Cookies are a popular sweet with a gazillion variations.
This version has less sugar than most of them, but they are still sweet enough to count as cookies and not as a chore.
They are cakey little cookies with a tangy glaze that feel like a welcome touch of summer no matter what time of year.
You’ll need to let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes before baking – or you can keep the dough refrigerated for up to 24 hours and bake them when you are ready.
These go well with tea (hot, iced or herbal), which won’t overpower them like coffee might.
These cookies are light and cakey. They will keep for about a week in a tightly covered container. Let the glazed cookies sit at room temperature before storing to give the glaze time to set. This will keep the cookies from sticking together. You will need to chill the dough before baking for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml butter
- 1 cup / 250 ml sugar
- 1 teaspoon / 5 ml grated lemon rind
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml lemon juice
- 1-1/4 cup / 310 ml ricotta cheese
- 1-3/4 cup / 437.5 ml flour
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon / 5 ml baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml salt
- 1 cup / 250 ml icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml lemon juice
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 176 degrees C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or lightly grease.
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Beat butter with hand mixer until soft and light in color. Add sugar gradually and beat until all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture looks light.
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Add the egg, lemon juice, and rind and continue beating until the ingredients are completely blended in. Stir in ricotta until evenly mixed.
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In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir by hand until no streaks of flour are visible. Chill the mixture for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
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Roll chilled dough into 1-inch / 2.5 cm balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until cookies are set and can be lifted from the pan. You can check them at 10 minutes to see if they are ready.
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While the cookies are baking, prepare the glaze by mixing together the icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Remove baked cookies from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack. Brush the hot cookies lightly with glaze.
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Continue with remaining cookie dough and glaze. Brush the cookies with glaze again after they have cooled. Let the glaze set before storing cookies in an airtight container.
Grace says
I live at an altitude of 7000 ft and would like to know if I need to make adjustments to the recipe before trying it. Thank you,
Mary says
Hi- I don’t have personal experience with high altitude baking, but the links below provides details on adapting recipes for high altitude baking. One of them gives details for cookie baking specifically. Let me know if this helps 🙂 Thanks for stopping by 🙂
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
http://www.cookie-elf.com/baking-cookies-at-a-high-altitude.html