Lemon Ricotta Cookies from scratch with fresh, homemade ricotta cheese are a sweet soft, moist cookie topped with a sweet lemon glaze.
Have you made your own Homemade Ricotta Cheese, yet? Well then one of the first things you should do with it is make some of my favorite cookies: Lemon Ricotta Cookies!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour - All-purpose is our go-to, but these cookies would still be great with a gluten-free or another nut flour.
- Sugar - White granular or cane sugar.
- Eggs and Baking powder - To help them rise a little.
- Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice
- Ricotta Cheese From Scratch
Easy, right?
How to Make
Step 1: Fluff the butter and sugar together.
Step 2: Beat the eggs in, one at a time.
Step 3: Add ricotta, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Step 4: Add the sifted flour, salt, and baking powder until I had a nice moist dough.
Step 5: Roll out into little balls onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Step 6: Baked!
Step 7: Drizzled with a lemon glaze!
And done!
As a result, some lovely, light, soft Lemon Ricotta Cookies from scratch with Homemade Ricotta Cheese!
They are one of my favorite cookies! They're so soft and sweet and just straight-up lovely.
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 14 ounce Homemade ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon divided
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and most of the lemon zest. (Reserve about 1/2-1 teaspoon for the glaze). Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Glaze
- Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.
First you say zest of one lemon with eggs, cheese etc. then for glaze you say lemon juice, but then again zest . So how much zest for dough mixture and then glaze?
Oops! Sorry about that, Sandy. You want the zest of a whole lemon, which is about 1 tablespoon. For the lemon zest, I set aside about 1/2- 1 teaspoon of zest (1/2 if you don't get a full tablespoon). I just updated the recipe to make it more clear, thanks for pointing that out!
Every time I see a lemony dessert I get SO excited. Haha. I love how light and fluffy these are. Ricotta does wonders when baking. I really need to use it in more baking—I usually only buy it when I'm making lasagna. Excuse me while I spend the entire summer mowing down these cookies…
These lemon ricotta cookies look absolutely delicious! I love how lemon makes everything taste bright and fresh, so I will definitely give these a try. They are a great way to use leftover ricotta cheese too!
Lemon and summer is a great combination. So fresh tasting and the ricotta added to the cookies would be so tempting I don't think I could stop and just one. We always have ricotta cheese in our house -- these cookies are too tempting not to make them ASAP.
Ricotta always makes everything it comes into contact with just so much more magical! I love the rich creaminess it imparts on dishes and these cookies are no exception. Perfect choice for a full and happy cookie jar!
I have never heard of ricotta cookies before, this is great. So how long is your list of things to make someday? Mine seems to be too long and sometimes overwhelming. It comforts me that I am not the only one. Your cookies look magnificent, saving this to try someday, thank you!
Oh, these look so good! I’ve made ricotta cookies during the holidays, but why limit them to once a year. Lemon is such a great flavor for spring and summer. Adding these to my baking list!
I love lemon cookies, and these look so light and delicious! I haven't seen too many cookies with ricotta in them, I bet it tastes awesome. The lemon glaze on these cookies makes them look even more scrumptious!
I know the lemon lover in me would LOVE these cookies. In fact, I would have a hard time NOT eating them ALL. What a great treat to pair with my afternoon latte.
How do you get them real high...mine go flat.
I found your blog from the FBC Yum & Stumble Sunday, I love this recipe and your site, I'm sharing and pinning this one!
Thanks so much, Sara! So nice to meet you- headed over to your blog now 🙂
These cookies sound intriguing and delicious! Thank you for sharing Tracy!
Thank you! 😀
These look so soft and moist...I bet they taste wonderful!
Thanks, Nancy! They were... so light and lovely!
They look absolutely stunning!
These cookies sound so good! I love lemon in cookies!
Such cute little cookies! They sound delicious 🙂
Thanks, June! 😀
Oooo I want some. I love lemon and ricotta and sugar and Fiesta Friday.
They sound wonderful, the ricotta and lemon are such a great combination. Really love that you used in a cookie.