Soft and chewy Lemon Ricotta Cookies made from scratch. These Italian-inspired cookies are filled with creamy ricotta cheese and topped with a tangy two-ingredient lemon glaze. There’s no chilling the dough, so they’re ready to eat in under an hour.
Amazing Lemon Ricotta Cookies ☀️
These buttery Italian cookies are filled with creamy ricotta and fresh lemon juice and zest. They boast a super chewy and soft texture.
Covered in a two-ingredient lemon glaze and a sprinkling of fresh lemon zest, they’re bursting with zingy citrus.
The best part? They’re quick and easy to make. There’s no chilling the dough, so they’re ready to eat within an hour.
If you have a tub of storebought ricotta sitting in your fridge, you need to try making these chewy Lemon Ricotta Cookies stat.
Why you will love this recipe
- The cookies are soft, chewy and bursting with lemon flavour
- They’re quick and easy to make (no chill time)
- You only need a handful of simple ingredients
- They’re decorated with a quick lemon glaze icing
Recipe testing
We’re no stranger to the joy of lemony bakes around here. After all, my Lemon Yogurt Cake and my Lemon Crinkle Cookies are some of my most popular recipes. And I know how good ricotta can be in desserts too, thanks to my favourite Lemon Ricotta Cake.
But I had to test this cookie recipe six times before landing on the perfect ratio of ricotta, butter and lemon. Some cookies were too thick, some too cakey and some too dense.
To start, I took inspiration from my favourite Lemon Cookies and added ricotta into the cookie dough.
But the cookies were overly spongey. Next, I reduced the amount of ricotta cheese and flour, and swapped baking powder for baking soda. The cookies were much better!
I continued to iterate by using egg yolks and then egg whites, more and less flour, icing sugar instead of caster sugar, and so on.
Finally, I discovered the perfect recipe. Less ricotta, one egg yolk, plenty of vanilla and using both baking soda and powder made the ultimate soft and chewy Lemon Ricotta Cookies.
What do Lemon Ricotta Cookies taste like?
Lemon Ricotta Cookies are soft and sweet. They’re part-cake and part-cookie.
Creamy ricotta is the secret ingredient that gives the cookies their tender cake-like texture, and they have a strong lemon flavour thanks to plenty of fresh lemon zest and juice in both the cookies and the icing.
While some recipes have almond extract, we use vanilla extract to ensure the bright lemon flavour isn’t overpowered.
They don’t have crispy edges or a ‘snap’ like a traditional biscuit. Instead, these Italian Ricotta Cookies are buttery and chewy, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Perfect for lemon lovers!
Ingredients
You only need basic ingredients, plus store-bought ricotta and fresh lemons to make a batch of soft Lemon Ricotta Cookies from scratch. Here’s a breakdown of everything you’ll need, including any substitutions you can make:
- Unsalted butter
- Caster sugar: Or granulated sugar.
- Vanilla extract
- Egg yolk: Just one egg yolk is all that is needed to ensure these cookies bind together and have a soft and chewy texture.
- Store-bought ricotta cheese: I used Perfect Italiano Original Ricotta in this recipe. When recipe testing, I was surprised to see how much storebought ricotta varies in taste and texture. So do your research and source a full fat ricotta that’s not too dry, or too wet – and most of all tastes good (more on ricotta below).
- Plain flour: Or all purpose flour.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Lemons: You will need both the zest and juice of fresh lemons to make these cookies and the glaze icing.
- Icing sugar: Or powdered sugar.
What ricotta should I use?
When recipe testing, I discovered there is a huge difference in store-bought ricottas. You can see in this photo how much these three common brands of ricotta cheese differed in texture – and they did in taste too.
The first ricotta (Woolworths brand) was extremely wet and runny. The second (Italian Perfecto) was thicker and more full-flavoured, while the third (Pantalica Cheese Company) was very dry and much more grainy.
My recommendation is to find a ricotta that’s not too creamy and wet as it will make your cookie dough far too sloppy. A tub-style Ricotta will work better than a wheel of ricotta cheese which is much more dry and crumbly.
I found Italian Perfecto Original Ricotta worked well in this recipe.
How to make Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Just like regular Lemon Cookies, these Ricotta Cookies follow a traditional method of mixing together softened butter and sugar and then adding the dry ingredients.
You can use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer for this recipe.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how to make them. You can find detailed instructions in the recipe card below.
- In a large bowl, mix together softened butter and sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed until combined.
- Add vanilla, egg yolk and ricotta cheese and mix on low speed.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Briefly mix on low speed until a soft cookie dough forms.
- Spoon out cookie dough mixture into 1 tablespoon balls. Bake cookies for approximately 12 minutes or until just golden brown on the edges (and bottom).
Once they’re completely cooled, lemon icing is then spooned or drizzled over the top of the cookie, followed by a sprinkling of lemon zest.
How to make lemon icing
This sweet lemon glaze icing takes just a minute to make. All you need to do is mix together icing sugar and fresh lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
For best results, remember to sift your icing sugar first so there’s no lumps.
Lemon icing remains soft but will set slightly after 10-15 minutes.
Recipe tips
- Don’t cream your butter and sugar together: Mixing butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, a technique known as creaming, will result in cookies that are overly cakey and may deflate when removed from the oven. Unlike cake, you don’t need to aerate the mixture for cookies. You only need to mix your butter and sugar together until combined and creamy – approximately 1 minute.
- Choose the right ricotta cheese: Ricotta cheese can vary widely from brand to brand. I recommend finding a full fat ricotta cheese that’s not overly wet. A tub-style Ricotta will work better than a wheel of ricotta cheese which is much more dry and crumbly. And if you use fresh ricotta, you’ll need to drain it first.
- Do a tester cookie first: Since the texture and water content of ricotta cheese can vary widely, I recommend baking one or two cookies first – while you are spooning out the rest of the dough. If they spread too much in the oven, consider chilling the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour before trying again.
How to store Ricotta Cookies
Lemon Ricotta Cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature.
MAKE AHEAD: You can make the cookie dough, scoop or roll it into balls and then freeze it to bake at a later date. Simply thaw the cookie dough or bring it back to room temperature before baking as per the recipe.
Small or large: You can use a small cookie scoop (1 tablespoon) to make approximately 32 cookies (as pictured), or a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons) to make slightly larger cookies.
Frequently asked questions
No. These Lemon Ricotta Cookies will spread out naturally when baked. You can scoop the cookie dough and leave them as round balls on the baking tray. The heat of the oven will cause them to spread so be sure to leave room between each cookie dough ball.
Depending on the warmth of your butter, and the moisture in your ricotta, your cookie dough may be too wet to roll. This cookie dough is wetter than most but it should still be able to be portioned using a small cookie scoop and hold its shape. If it’s too wet to do that, consider chilling the dough for 1 hour and trying again. If it’s still too wet, add an extra tablespoon of flour.
If your cookies spread too much in the oven, it could be because your butter was too warm, or your ricotta had more moisture. Chilling your cookie dough in the fridge before baking should resolve this issue. I’ve also detailed some of the most common reasons why cookies are flat here.
Yes. To make orange ricotta cookies, follow the recipe as is but simply replace the lemon zest and juice with the same quantities of orange zest and juice.
More lemon recipes
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Let’s Bake
Lemon Ricotta Cookie recipe
Soft and chewy Lemon Ricotta Cookies with a two-ingredient lemon glaze.
Ingredients
Lemon ricotta cookies
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 125 grams (1/2 cup) store-bought ricotta cheese
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Zest of 1 large lemon, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Lemon glaze
- 125 grams (1 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 2–3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Lemon zest, finely grated, for decorating
Instructions
- Lemon ricotta cookies
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking or parchment paper. - In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined – approximately 1 minute.
- Add vanilla, egg yolk and ricotta and mix on low speed until combined.
- Add flour, baking soda, powder powder, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix on low speed just until a soft cookie dough forms – try not to over-mix.
- Scoop out cookie dough using a small cookie scoop – approximately 1 tablespoon of dough – and place on prepared trays, leaving room for them to spread. (See below notes on cookie sizes).
- Bake cookies for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and the bottom. Cookies may appear slightly underbaked on top.
- Leave cookies to cool for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Lemon glaze
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add icing sugar. Add lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time, and mix together until creamy and smooth. Keep adding a tablespoon of lemon juice until you reach your desired consistency. - Spoon lemon icing over each cookie. Sprinkle over fresh lemon zest. Leave cookies for 10 minutes for the icing to set. Enjoy!
Notes
Ricotta: Ricotta cheese can vary widely from brand to brand. I recommend finding a full fat ricotta cheese that’s not overly wet. A tub-style Ricotta will work better than a wheel of ricotta cheese which is much more dry and crumbly. If you use fresh ricotta, you’ll need to drain it first. I tested this recipe using Italian Perfecto Original Ricotta.
Cookie size: You can make these cookies slightly larger using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough). The cookies will take 1-2 minutes longer to bake. You will get 16 cookies out of this dough.
Flat cookies: Since the texture and water content of ricotta cheese can vary widely, I recommend baking one or two cookies first – while you are spooning out the rest of the dough. If they spread too much in the oven, consider chilling the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour before trying again.
Storage: Lemon Ricotta Cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make ahead: You can make the cookie dough, scoop or roll it into balls and then freeze it to bake at a later date. Simply thaw the cookie dough or bring it back to room temperature before baking as per the recipe.
Nutrition Information
Josh says
Loved these! The glaze makes the lemon flavour really come through.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Josh!