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)
Sarah Bailey
I totally need all the cookies in my life, these sound absolutely amazing and I would 100% LOVE to give them a try.
Jeanette
Oh my gosh those look so amazing. I really wish I could order these and have these delivered in the next five minutes. Alas since I cannot I will have to make them. I cannot wait.
Denay DeGuzman
These Meyer lemon cookies bring me back to my childhood! Thank you so much for sharing your special recipe with us. I’m looking forward to making a batch for NY Eve.
Amber Myers
These look amazing! I just love lemon flavored treats. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a cookie like this before, so I’m intrigued.
candy
Well now what have I been missing out all these years. Don’t believe I have ever had this type of cookie. Going to have to change this quickly.
GiGi Eats
That glaze over these perfectly cooked cookies, yeahhhh, it has me drooling HARD CORE!
Melissa Chapman
Lemon and ricotta sound like a great mixture and those cookies look so yummy. I will have the kids home this week so I know what I will be giving them to snack on.
Diane Pratt
Will these cookies freeze?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Diane
The raw dough does not freeze well but once baked they do freeze well.
Alfonso Tinsley
Hiya, This is a fantastic recipe, thank you for the detailed recipe for the great blog recipe.
Granny Franny
Why not use baking soda since there is lemon juice in the recipe ? I’ve noticed that the ricotta cookie recipes vary greatly whether to use soda or powder. I’m just wondering if the soda will have the cookie rise a bit more since I’ve read many complain about these cookies being somewhat flat….not necessarily this recipe. Also, why sea salt ? Thank you
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Franny
this is just how I make these cookies, its a family recipe that’s been handed down. Feel free to usually regular salt it will not make any difference. I just prefer sea salt.
Ruby
Can I use regular lemon?
Chef Dennis Littley
yes you can
Jess
These are really yummy, you’re right about the lemon glaze taking the flavor to the next level!! Do you have a regular sugar cookie recipe that I can use this lemon glaze with? If you ever went to Saranello’s restaurant and had the lemon cookies there- that is exactly what I’m looking to recreate!
Thanks,
priscilla
These cookies are seriously amazing, they are so moist and delicious, im in love 🙂
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed them Priscilla!
Emma
Hi there,
Are these, is the cookie dough supposed to be sticky.
Chef Dennis Littley
the dough will be moist because of the ricotta cheese, so they will be a little sticky
Rhea
Chef Dennis, isn’t it wonderful how food can conjure up memories! For me, lemon ricotta cookies reminds me of Positano, Italy. One tip I use when making these cookies is to drain the ricotta in cheesecloth. Once I forgot and the cookies were not as light and fluffy. Your cookies look great, especially the glaze with lemon zest.
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Rhea
oh how I love Positano what great memories! Thanks for the tip on draining the ricotta!