Bring sunshine into your world with these oh-so-delicious and easy-to-make Lemon Ricotta Cookies! I made mine with Meyer Lemons but they are just as delicious using regular lemons.
One of the great joys of life is baking cookies. Most cookies don’t take long to prepare and take little time to bake. If you count eating the batter as you go, cookies are about as close to instant gratification as you can get!
It’s amazing what you can forget through the years and the emotions that can surface when those memories come flooding back to you. For so long, I had blocked out the memories of my time with Mama Jeanette, but over the past few years, some of the dishes I’ve made have triggered those memories.
And I remember the first time she made her lemon ricotta cookies for me like it was yesterday…..sigh
What ingredients do I need to make Lemon Ricotta Cookies?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Meyer Lemon Ricotta Cookies. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the up cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
**All Ingredients should be at room temperature.
How do I make Lemon Ricotta Cookies?
The first step is mixing the flour together with the sea salt, baking soda and baking powder. Blend it together well and set aside until needed.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the butter and the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes
- Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time until well blended.
- Add the ricotta, lemon juice, vanilla and zest, and mix until well blended.
- Add in dry ingredients and mix just enough to incorporate.
When your cookie dough is finished, it needs to be refrigerated for at least one hour. Overnight or longer is even better. You want the dough to be cold. I used a one-ounce cookie scoop to make my cookies; that’s why they look round. You could also roll them by hand, but make sure to chill them after rolling.
**If you’re making the cookies in batches, make sure to refrigerate the dough that’s not baking.
Can I make larger Lemon Ricotta Cookies?
No, you can’t! Cookies should be no larger than one tablespoon in size; anything larger than one tablespoon will yield flat cookies that resemble poorly made sugar cookies.
Can I freeze the ricotta cookie dough?
Yes, you can. The cookie dough can be kept frozen for up to three months, make sure to have it in a well-sealed container and double-wrap it with plastic wrap. When you’re ready to bake, let the dough thaw overnight in the fridge.
Can I freeze Lemon Ricotta cookies?
Yes, you can. You can freeze unglazed baked cookies freeze for up to 3 months. Make sure they are in a well-sealed container and double-wrapped with plastic wrap. When you’re ready to serve the cookies, allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Let the cookies come to room temperature before glazing and serving
Make the lemon glaze for the cookies when you’re ready to bake them. I added some lime zest to this batch to add a little color to the glaze. Try the glaze with your favorite citrus fruit. Oranges or just limes would add wonderful flavors to the glaze.
It’s really easy to make. Mix confectioners sugar with lemon juice and zest. After the cookies have completely cooled, spoon a little of the glaze on the top and use the spoon to help spread it on top of the cookie.
The cookies had a light texture with an almost cheesecake-like flavor, but it was the lemon glaze that pushes them over the edge.
If there are any left after the first day, store them in a loosely sealed container; otherwise, the moisture will ruin the consistency of the cookie.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love!
Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick) softened to room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 15 ounces whole milk ricotta room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice Meyer lemon or regular lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon finely zested Meyer lemon or regular lemon zest
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 lemon finely zested *add lime or orange zest for color and a little extra flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cookies
- Mix the flour, baking powder,baking soda and sea salt together in bowl and set aside
- In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the butter and the sugar, beat until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes
- Add the eggs one at a time until well blended.
- Add ricotta, lemon juice, vanilla and zest, mix until well blended.**If the ricotta has liquid with it, strain the ricotta to get rid of any extra liquid. The drier the ricotta the better.
- Add in dry ingredients and mix just enough to incorporate
- Chill the batter/dough in the refrigerator for at least 4 hour before baking. This essential to the success of the cookies.Chilling the batter overnight is even better.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and place cookies about an inch apart. Cookies should be no larger than 1 tablespoon in size, anything larger than 1 Tablespoon will yield flat (pancake-like) ricotta cookies. **This is a must! Larger cookies will not bake properly, they will flatten out and look more like badly made sugar cookies.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown slightly on the edges.
- Allow cookies to cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack or until cool to the touch
Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl mix the confectioners sugar, meyer lemon juice and zest together until well blended.
- Using a tablespoon, spoon the glaze onto the cookie and spread it around using the bowl of the spoon.
- Allow cookies to dry for about 30 minutes. (If the container is too air tight they will soften as they sit, and by the third day the texture will not be as good)
Melody
I’m baking these cookies now.They were in the frig since yesterday, the dough is a little former and I made them smaller.They didn’t rise like they should have.I used new baking powder, what am I doing wrong.How can I fix this?
Melody
I made them at 1 tablespoon and they spread,so I used a half tablespoon and they came out a little less flat.They have a more lemon taste,I used 1 tablespoon of lemon extract,1 tablespoon of vanilla and a half tablespoon of lemon juice.I drained the ricotta and used 1 1/2 cups of it.I don’t like how the dough is still soft.
Chef Dennis Littley
It looks like you didn’t use enough ricotta, did you change the amounts of any of the other ingredients?
Andrea
These were delicious! I did have to turn my oven down 25 degrees, I fear it may be running a bit high, and baked for 9 min. The glaze really makes the cookie.
Susie
Hello. Sounds delicious. Do you have any suggestions to make this wheat-free?
Chef Dennis Littley
I would try a cup for cup gluten free flour. I’ve had other readers that had success with that type of flour.
Jan
I made these to use up a tub of ricotta I had. I heeded all the tips about keeping the dough and trays cool between batches and even made sure my kitchen was cool. Not hard to do in April in Ontario!
I used a scoop and since it was just over a Tbl spoon I didn’t quite fill it and pressed the dough in to get maximum height.
Mine baked perfectly at 9 mins. Baked nicely but still had a few spluge out and lose shape.
I swapped 1tsp of lemon extract for 1tsp of lemon juice in dough and doubled the zest. Not a lot of lemon flavour, despite the swaps.
I would have liked to omit the glaze but that’s where the flavour is.
JoJo
Hi there I made the dough yesterday afternoon and put it in the fridge overnight. I baked the cookies scooping out a little bit less than a tablespoon. The dough was very sticky. Perhaps I should have drained the regulator in a colander before I used it or should I have added a little bit more flour. The cookies flatten a bit. But I have to tell u that my granddaughter come n devoured them. So good.
Kathryn McKisic
Can lemon ricotta cookies be frozen?
Chef Dennis Littley
Unglazed and baked cookies freeze well for up to 2-3 months. When ready to serve thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before glazing and serving.
Karen
These are now my favorite cookie! They are light, lemony bites of sheer deliciousness! I have made them 3 times now and they keep coming out flat(er) than they should. I measure them by tblsp, and I even bought new baking powder to see if that was the problem, but honestly it didn’t make a difference. Do you have any suggestions as to what I may be missing? Until then I will continue making these gems! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Chef Dennis Littley
Have you tried refrigerating the dough overnight?
Heidi
So good! I bought a case of fresh Meyer lemons and this was one of the recipes I tried. So easy and my family LOVED them!
Patricia Swanson
I am just finishing up my first batch of this recipe. I did chill it overnight. I felt like the dough was a bit to runny and it didn’t solidify in the frig. As a result, the cookie didn’t puff as well as yours. But, alas, they are delicious. Next time, I will add a bit more flour if it looks like that as it starts the chill.
Ruth Wininger
My dough was pretty sticky when I made these but they are beautiful. Perfect for holiday cookie trays. Thanks for sharing your recipe!