Bring sunshine into your world with these oh so delicious and easy to make Meyer Lemon Ricotta Cookies! Don’t have Meyer Lemons? That’s okay you can make them with 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, beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes
- Add the eggs one at a time until well blended.
- Add ricotta, lemon juice, vanilla and zest, 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 badly 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, just 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
While the dough is chilling, make the lemon glaze for the cookies. 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’s 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 Lemon Recipes You’ll Love!
Meyer Lemon Ricotta Cookie
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 ounces softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 15 ounces whole milk ricotta
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice
- 1 Meyer lemon finely zested or regular lemon zest
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
- 1 Meyer 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, 2-3 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 1 hour before baking. This essential to the success of the cookies.Chilling the batter for up to 4 hours or 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)
Nutrition
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!
mjskit
These cookies look perfect! I love the idea of using the ricotta. I bet it makes them so moist and then the lemon – so refreshing! Talk about a burst of lemony sweetness in every bite. The cookie monsters in this house will love them. I love them so much that I listed them in my most recent post in a list of Meyer lemon recipes that caught my eye. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Chef Dennis
Thank you, and they really were a wonderful cookie, there is something about lemon that does tend to brighten the day and in the middle of winter it was a very welcome feeling!
mangiabella
Chef these look like they could simply melt in our mouth. I am a sucker for all things lemon, and am thinking of making some scones with a lemon glaze for valentine’s day for some of my girlfriends. I am marking these to try to make for my dad. They just sound amazing. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and Valentine’s Day and that in spite of the cold weather you are staying warm!!!! Always sending my very best your way, hugs!
Jeanne @ CookSIster
Oh my word, I love the look of these! I seldom bake cookies, but you had me at “cheesecake-like flavour” 😉
Melissa
Totally going in my cookie file.
Betty Ann @Mango_Queen
These lemon ricotta cookies are amazing. I will try these because my sons love lemon flavors in their pastries. Thanks for sharing, Chef Dennis!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking
These cookies look lovely, Dennis! I’ve never baked with Meyer lemons, but this would definitely be a great first recipe to try with them. Thanks for sharing!
Swathi
Chef,
I love this ricotta cookies, they are more like litte cakes, it got more flavor as you incorporate tangy lemon in there. I made once and dipped the half of cookie with chocolate.
Brian @ A Thought For Food
Oh yes… yes yes yes. I have a feeling I wouldn’t be able to resist eating this whole plate. Looks marvelous!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
That is exactly why I make cookies…cookie dough 🙂 Seriously though,I love the addition of ricotta in these cookies. Such a fun flavor to incorporate with the lemon!
RavieNomNoms
I made something very similar to this a couple years ago. They were so good!
Carolyn
These are beautiful, Chef! Funny, I have a bunch of meyer lemons in my fridge, but my inclination was to make donuts…maybe I have to rethink that!
Foodiewife
You had me at Meyer Lemon. Then you stopped me dead in my tracks with ricotta. Wow!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
These look like the perfect use for my Meyer lemons! Love the ricotta too.
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories
Sweet story and lovely cookies. I can’t wait to make them.
Vicki @ WITK
I love making cookies too for the reason that they come together so quickly. Then I bring them to work so I don’t eat them all!