This Lemon Ricotta Cookie is simply the BEST! It’s thick, super soft with just the right level of sweetness and amazing lemon flavor. It’s refreshing and just delicious in every bite.

If I have known that this cookie taste this good, I would have made it sooner.  I’ve seen quite a lot of Ricotta Cookie in Pinterest but it seems it was not enough to motivate me to make it mainly because I don’t buy Ricotta cheese that often. And whenever I do, I always end up with more Ricotta than what I need. I wish manufacturer will make smaller tub of Ricotta cheese so that I don’t go crazy thinking what to do with my leftover Ricotta Cheese. Few days ago, my friend gave me a full tub of Ricotta Cheese, unfortunately they also don’t know what to do with it. That’s where I came in the picture. I’m more their go to person when they have too much of something and they don’t know what to do with it. Like plenty of overripe banana, or dates that needed rescuing and even several bottle of spices all of them unopened. I hate food waste and my friends know that. So whenever there’s food that needs rescuing, that would a job for me to do. This week, full tub of Ricotta needed rescuing, and this is why this Lemon Ricotta Cookie was born. I’ve made 3 desserts from 1 full tab of Ricotta Cheese, first was the Lemon Ricotta Almond Bread (Flourless and Gluten Free), then the Chocolate Almond Ricotta Cake (both recipe uses 1/2 cup of Ricotta) and then this Lemon Ricotta Cookie finished all my remaining Ricotta. Not bad at all, 1 tub of Ricotta = 3 amazing Ricotta desserts. When I say amazing, they are all truly amazing and delicious.

How to Make Lemon Ricotta Cookie

This cookie is one of the easiest cookie to make. You will need a hand mixer or a stand mixer to make this because the batter requires creaming to get a soft and fluffy texture. This is why it is important to have the ingredients in room temperature for easy creaming and mixing. Room temperature ingredients produces a fluffy cookie. The creaming process is probably the most that you will do of course with the help of a mixer then all the rest of the step is just combining the dry ingredients and wet ingredients.

Ingredients for Lemon Ricotta Cookie

• Unsalted Butter – Butter should be in room temperature. Leave the butter in counter top at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before using. This could vary depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
• Egg – Room temperature as well, take it out the same time you take out the butter. You can also submerge it in a warm water for 10 minutes if you forget to take it out from the refrigerator.
• Ricotta Cheese – room temperature as well. Stir or remove the excess liquid (if any), you want to use as much of the Ricotta Cheese without the water.
• Flour – the main dry ingredient that will give structure to the cookie
• Baking Powder – this will act as leavening agent, responsible for the thick cookie. If you want a thinner cookie, reduce it to 1/2 tsp instead of 1 tsp
• Salt – adds flavor and balances the sweetness. I used fine salt in all my recipe
• Lemon Zest –  provides lemon flavor to the cookie

What to Expect From This Cookie

This cookie … It was love at first bite! So soft, so creamy and brimming with lemon flavor in very bite. At first I thought it came out too thick because I kept it in the fridge for about 15 minutes white pre-heating the oven. But then when I had my first bite, I told myself I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s perfect for me the way it was. The way that it was thick was perfect, I can feel the softness of the cookie, and it felt like it was melting in my mouth. You know that melt in you mouth expression, that’s true for this cookie. Then the sweetness, again it was perfect. The cookie itself has very subtle sweetness which make it great because the lemon glaze completed the sweetness for the cookie. Then the lemon flavor, it’s so subtle and yet so delicious. It’s not overwhelming or sour, it’s just perfect. Best of all, the creaminess and milky taste of this cookie is crazy good. I can taste the milky taste of Ricotta cheese in every bite. I love this cookie, I cannot wait to make more of this so that I can share it with my colleagues. Now I have a go to recipe whenever I have Ricotta cheese on hand.

Tips for a Thick and Soft Cookie

• Room temperature ingredients – Butter, egg and ricotta cheese should be in room temperature so that it creams well and mix well together. Room temperature ingredients produces a light fluffy end product.
• Cream the butter, egg and sugar properly – what does properly means? It means until it is light and fluffy, until the color turns pale even if it means mixing it more than 5 minutes. Mixer can differ, if you haven’t reach a light and fluffy texture and consistency, then continue mixing until you get to that stage. This is why it is important to have room temperature ingredients. You will not be able to cream ingredients better if they are cold. Using cold ingredients is a sure way to start wrong.
• No over mixing – Yes, this again. I know you’ve heard it over and over again, but I’m still repeating it. Do NOT over mix to avoid a tough cookie dense cookie. Over mixing works out the gluten in the flour and when that happens it makes the dough tough resulting to a dense cookie.
• Cool completely before glazing – Let the cookie rest for about 30 minutes or until completely cooled down. Do NOT glaze while warm or the glaze will melt.
• Extra Thick or Medium Thick? – you have an option to make the cookie extra thick like the one in the photos or make it medium thick like the one in the video. Either way, they both taste great. Humidity also plays a role on the consistency of the cookie batter, if yours turn out too soft, chill the batter before baking. Here’s what you need to do.
  • Extra thick cookie – If you are not in a hurry, chilling the batter for few minutes is what I recommend. Use full 1 tsp baking powder and chill the batter while you are pre-heating the oven, 15 – 20 minutes will do trick of making the cookie thick. – My personal preference
  • Medium Thick Cookie– Use 3/4 tsp baking powder and do not chill the batter. The batter will be soft, and this will give you a decent thickness, will slightly spread but still not too thin that the cookie will be crispy on the edge.

The key to fully appreciating this cookie is to not make it too thin. You will experience the softness of the cookie better if it is slightly thick of not as thick as this one. Remember, thick not thin. Got it?

Let’s make this cookie. Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter – room temperature
• 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Egg – room temperature
• 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4  teaspoon Salt
• lemon zest of 1 Lemon

For the Glaze:

• 3/4  cup powdered Sugar
• 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice ( can be substituted with milk or water)
• Lemon Zest of 1 Lemon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or baking mat.
2. Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar and egg until light and fluffy. Add the ricotta cheese and mix until fully combined.
3. Dry Ingredients: To the wet ingredients, add the flour, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. Mix until just combined and no more raw flour visible, do not over mix.
4. Divide the Cookie Batter: Using a large size ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheet leaving about 2 inches apart for each cookie. This could make 10 pieces. If you do not have an ice cream scoop, just divide the cookie batter into 10 equal portion. The cookie will spread as it bakes but expect a thick cookie.
   • Alternatively, you can use a medium ice cream scoop which will make 12 pieces of cookie, or again simply divide the batter into 12 equal portion. Bake for 13 – 15 minutes until the edges are slightly golden.
5. Chill: For a thick cookie, chill the dough for 1 hour.
6. Bake for about 20 – 22 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden. The cookie will still be soft, but don’t worry it will continue to bake as it cools. Another check that you can do is try to lift the cookie with a spatula, if it lifts easily and do no stick to the parchment paper anymore, then it is done.
7. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for about 15 -minutes before removing them to cool completely on a cooling rack. Let cool in the rack for about 15 – 30 minutes. Do NOT glaze while still warm.
8. Make the Glaze: In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest and whisk until smooth. You can adjust the consistency by adding more lemon juice for thinner glaze, or less lemon juice for thicker glaze.
9. Glaze the Cookie: Drizzle the glaze on top of the cookie and let sit until the glaze hardens. The length of time for the glaze to harden depends on the humidity and temperature in your working area.

Makes 10 large cookie or 12 medium size cookie

Nutritional Information

Nutritional Information was calculated using Veryfitwell Recipe Calorie and Nutrition Calculator. For details about Nutritional Information in this website, please read the Disclaimer page.

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