These authentic Italian Ricotta Cookies are a holiday-favorite. They’re soft and pillowy with a gentle touch of lemon flavor that balances the sweetness from the cookie dough and sugar icing.
The ricotta cheese added to the cookie dough provides moisture and volume, melting in your mouth with each bite!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This recipe doesn’t require you to chill the dough before baking, reducing the prep time significantly.
- These Italian ricotta cookies have a cake-like texture, making them soft so that they melt in your mouth, similar to black and white cookies.
- The ricotta cheese adds moisture and volume to the cookies, turning a standard cookie into a special treat.
These classic Italian cookies are a breeze to make, topped with pretty tinted icing and holiday sprinkles that can be adapted to suit any occasion!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list for this Italian Lemony Ricotta Cookies recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are in the recipe card below.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Zest the lemon and squeeze out the juice (used in glaze).
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat granulated sugar, butter, and lemon zest until creamy. Add ricotta cheese, eggs, and vanilla.
- Beat in the flour until smooth.
- Scoop dough into balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack before adding the glaze.
- Combine confectioners' sugar, reserved lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon water until smooth. Tint with food coloring.
- Drizzle icing over the cookies with the use of a piping bag.
- Decorate the cookies with your favorite sprinkles and let them set over 30 minutes.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- cookie baking sheets
- parchment paper
- cookie scoop - insures uniform cookies
- mixing bowls
- electric hand mixer
- dry measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- microplane - for zesting
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- If you don’t have a piping bag to drizzle the icing over the cookies, use a plastic bag and cut off the corners.
- Serve these cookies at cookie exchange parties or gift them to friends, family, and neighbors during the holidays.
- Using a cookie scoop is a good way to ensure uniform-sized cookies that will cook evenly in the oven.
- Make sure enough space is allowed between each cookie to allow for normal spreading while baking.
- The cookie dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer (wrapped in plastic wrap) to reduce prep time.
- To prevent cookies from spreading too much while baking, line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat instead of applying cooking spray.
- Allow the cookies to cool before adding the icing. The fresh icing will also need about 30 minutes to harden.
📚 Variations
- Make these Italian ricotta cookies gluten-free using gluten-free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill, a like-for-like substitution.
- I’ve used vanilla extract in these cookies, but you could use almond extract or anise instead.
- Tint the icing with any color of food coloring to suit the occasion or theme of your cookies. The sprinkles can also be changed to suit an occasion or specific holiday.
🥫 Storage
These Italian Ricotta cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5-7 days. You can also freeze these cookies for up to 1 month (either the baked cookies or the cookie dough).
📗 Related Recipes
Get ready for holiday celebrations and cookie exchange parties by adding these scrumptious lemon ricotta cookies to your baking:
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies - Stunning holiday cookies loaded with chocolate flavor and a pretty cracked exterior with powdered sugar.
- Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies - These peanut butter cookies are soft and chewy with Hershey’s candy cane kisses to bring the Christmas cheer!
- The Best Italian Christmas Cookies - Soft buttery anise-flavored Italian Cookies which are dipped in a creamy glaze, and topped with colorful sprinkles.
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies - These delicious treats are studded with slightly tart with dried cranberries and lusciously sweet with white chocolate chips.
- Neapolitan Cookies - Striped cookies with vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate flavors make an irresistible treat and simply WOWs family and friends.
🍽 Serve with
Serve these Italian Ricotta Cookies on a holiday charcuterie board with other sweet treats or enjoy these cookies with a warm mug of hot chocolate, eggnog, or tall glass of milk.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
These classic Italian Ricotta Cookies have been a holiday tradition in my family since I can remember! Being Italian, there’s never a shortage of delicious food in the house, with these ricotta cookies being top of the list and for good reason - they’re easy to make with a cake-like crumb and a sweet icing, decorated with fun holiday sprinkles!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
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📝 Recipe Card
Italian Ricotta Cookies are classic holiday cookies made with ricotta cheese and a tinted icing with sprinkles. The cookies are popular for their cake-like texture that melts in your mouth!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Special Occasion Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies Recipe
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 lemon
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
- 15 ounce ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For glaze:
- 1¼ cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon water
- blue food coloring or the coloring of your choice.
- edible food decorations
Instructions
Ricotta Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350℉. From the lemon grate 1 teaspoon zest and squeeze 3 Tablespoons juice (reserve the juice for the glaze).
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat granulated sugar, butter, and lemon zest until creamy.
- Add ricotta cheese, eggs, and vanilla, beating until combined, stopping and scraping down the side of bowl occasionally. Beat in flour mixture until just smooth.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. With a small cookie scoop (about 2 teaspoons), scoop dough into balls; place on cookie sheet, spacing 1½ inches apart. With fingers, pat each down into a flat disk.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Ricotta Cookie glaze:
- In a medium bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar, reserved lemon juice and ½ teaspoon water until smooth. Tint with food coloring to the desired shade. Place the icing in a small plastic bag with one corner snipped off.
- Drizzle all over cookies. Decorate with edible stars if desired or a decoration you like. Let stand until set about 30 minutes.
- Cookies can be stored in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 1 month. Makes about 3½ dozen.
Notes
- ou don’t have a piping bag to drizzle the icing over the cookies, use a plastic bag and cut off the corners.
- Serve these cookies at cookie exchange parties or gift them to friends, family, and neighbors during the holidays.
- Using a cookie scoop is a good way to ensure uniform-sized cookies that will cook evenly in the oven.
- Make sure enough space is allowed between each cookie to allow for normal spreading while baking.
- The cookie dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer (wrapped in plastic wrap) to reduce prep time.
- To prevent cookies from spreading too much while baking, line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat instead of applying cooking spray.
- Allow the cookies to cool before adding the icing. The fresh icing will also need about 30 minutes to harden.
