Ricotta Cookies

Moist and soft Italian Ricotta Cookies that have a texture similar to cake. Glazed with a simple silky smooth vanilla glaze, and decorated with colorful sprinkles, you will love these delicious cookies!

The cookie baking season is almost here and I am so excited! I start planning for Christmas baking very early every year, to decide which cookies I can start baking in October and freeze for later, how many varieties of cookies I will be baking, and what ingredients and supplies I will need to buy.

I make these lemon Ricotta cookies every year, and always make sure that I triple and quadruple the batch to have enough for friends and family as they’re probably our family’s favorite cookies.

Having said that, these Italian Ricotta Cookies are made all year round in our house. They’re soft, delicious, and you will LOVE the simple vanilla glaze.

If you’re looking for more Christmas cookie recipes for a cookie exchange or your cookie tray this year, check out my Italian Wedding Cookies, Christmas Pinwheel Cookies, and these delicious Spiced Rum Cookies.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Little Bites of Cake – This is the best way to describe these delicious cookies, they’re soft, cakey, moist, and decorated with pretty sprinkles just like birthday cake!
2. Nostalgic – If you remember Italian Trays from your childhood (family? neighbours?), then you remember these delicious cookies. My Mom made them, they were my favorite cookies as a child, and were always gone first. If you’ve never had them before, no they don’t taste like cheese!
3. Rich – These cookies are quite rich, ricotta adds a lot to the flavor and the texture and this is what makes them so special.

Ingredients In Recipe

Here’s what you need to make these delicious Ricotta cookies:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

For The Cookies

• Dry Ingredients: All purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Butter: Use unsalted softened butter for this recipe. If you only have salted butter, skip adding salt to the dry ingredients.
• Sugar: Use granulated sugar. These cookies are not too sweet, they’re just right!
• Ricotta: For best results, I recommend using fresh whole milk ricotta cheese. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before making the cookie dough. You can even make cookies with homemade ricotta!
• Egg: You will only need one egg to make 3 dozen cookies. Make sure that it’s at room temperature as it will incorporate better in the cookie dough.
• Vanilla: Always buy the best quality vanilla extract that you can afford, it makes a big difference. You can substitute vanilla extract with coconut or almond extract if you like.
• Lemon: The lemon is optional in this recipe, but adds so much brightness to the cookies. We will be using a small amount of lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.

For the vanilla glaze

You only need four simple ingredients to make the best ever cookie glaze!

• Powdered Sugar: Just like any other icing or glaze recipe, we will start with powdered sugar or confectioners sugar. If it has been sitting in your pantry for a while, sift it first.
• Butter: Adding butter to the glaze will give it a luxurious mouthfeel that you just don’t get with a plain glaze.
• Milk: Add milk to thin out the glaze. You can use cow’s milk or plant-based milk here.
• Vanilla: To flavor the icing.
• Food coloring – optional. Here’s my secret to beautiful white glaze that looks like snow, add a couple of drops of white food coloring.

How To Make Recipe

1. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream: In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until combined and creamy. Add the ricotta, and beat until it’s completely incorporated.
3. Add Ingredients: Add egg and vanilla and beat again with the mixer until well combined. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, and mix that in.
4. Finish Mixing Dough: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined.
5. Chill: Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.
6. Drop: Using a small tablespoon size cookie scoop, drop a tablespoon of dough per cookie onto a lined baking sheet, leaving room for cookies to spread (about 1.5-2 inches).

1. Bake: Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies have set and they’re golden brown at the bottom.
2. Cool: Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before adding the glaze.

1. Make the Glaze: To make the glaze, in a medium bowl combine all of the glaze ingredients. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk if necessary.
2. Dip in Glaze and Decorate: Dip each cookie in the glaze, then return to the wire rack (any extras will drip off). Decorate with sprinkles before the glaze sets, I like to glaze a dozen then decorate with sprinkles, then do the rest.

Tips For Making These Cookies

• Let Ingredients Come to Room Temperature. The butter, ricotta cheese, and the egg must be at room temperature in order to cream together smoothly. A room temperature egg incorporates better than a cold one. 
• Mix the Flour In Slowly. To avoid making a floury mess, add half of the flour mixture in at a time, and mix on low. If using a hand mixer, do this at the lowest speed possible (make sure that your mixer has this setting or use a spatula instead). I use this KitchenAid hand mixer, and it’s honestly the best!
• Be Patient! The cookies must be cooled completely before adding the glaze, if you don’t wait the glaze might melt.
• Use a Cookie Scoop. It’s important that your cookies are uniform in size, this will make sure that they bake evenly and they will look better too!
• Make them round. If you want to make the cookies very round, roll them very quickly between your palms. The dough will be very soft to work with, so you will need to use a cookie scoop to quickly portion out the dough.
• Wondering what else to make with ricotta cheese? Try my easy Lemon Ricotta Pasta recipe!

Frequently Asked Questions About Ricotta Cookies

Recommended Tools

Here’s what I use and recommend to bake these cookies:

• Mixing Bowls. I use these Pyrex brand glass bowls for all of the baking and cooking that I do. They come in different sizes, last for ages, and are very comfortable to use.
• Hand Mixer. I love this KitchenAid hand mixer so much! It’s one of the most useful tools that I own and love, comes with 9 speeds and has a very low speed setting that not all mixers have.
• Measuring Cups and Spoons. These are perfect! They’re magnetic for easy storage, and I love the shape of the spoons that can easily fit any spice or herb jar (round ones can’t!).
• Baking Sheet. I always use this half size Nordicware sheet for cooking sheet pan dinners, and baking cookies. Perfect size, great material, and will last you for ages.
• Silicone Mats. I rarely use parchment paper, as I find lining my baking sheets with silicone mats is easier and gives great results. This is the Cookie Silpat Silicone Mat that you can see in the pictures, I love it!
• Cookie Scoop. I use a small 1 tablespoon cookie scoop for this recipe, it ensures that the cookies are uniform in size.

More Delicious Cookie Recipes

Italian Wedding Cookies

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

All Cookies ➜

Save this recipe for the next time you’re in the mood for baking delicious cookies! I hope that you love them as much as I do.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

5 from 4 votes

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Ricotta Cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Chill time: 2 hours hrs

Author: Diana

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Moist and soft Italian Ricotta Cookies that have a texture similar to cake. Glazed with a simple silky smooth vanilla glaze, and decorated with colorful sprinkles, you will love these delicious cookies!

36 cookies

Moist and soft Italian Ricotta Cookies that have a texture similar to cake. Glazed with a simple silky smooth vanilla glaze, and decorated with colorful sprinkles, you will love these delicious cookies!

Recipe Video

Equipment

• Mixing Bowl
• Hand mixer
• Small cookie scoop, 1 tablespoon
• Baking sheet, half size
• Silicone mat
• Wire rack

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups (270g) all purpose flour
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened
• ▢ ¾ cup (170g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 8 ounces (225g) whole milk ricotta cheese
• ▢ 1 large egg at room temperature
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 lemon 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the glaze:

• ▢ 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
• ▢ Sprinkles

Instructions

• In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until combined and creamy. Add the ricotta, and beat until it’s completely incorporated.
• Add egg and vanilla and beat again with the mixer until well combined. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, and mix that in.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined.
• Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/160°C fan oven, and line a baking tray with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.
• Using a small tablespoon size cookie scoop, drop a tablespoon of dough per cookie onto a lined baking sheet, leaving room for cookies to spread (about 1.5-2 inches).
• Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies have set and they’re golden brown at the bottom.
• Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before adding the glaze.

Make the Glaze:

• To make the glaze, in a bowl combine all of the glaze ingredients. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk if necessary.
• Dip each cookie in the glaze, then return to the wire rack (any extras will drip off). Decorate with sprinkles before the glaze sets, I like to glaze a dozen then decorate with sprinkles, then do the rest.

Notes:

1. Let Ingredients Come to Room Temperature. The butter, ricotta cheese, and egg must be at room temperature in order to cream together smoothly.
2. To avoid making a floury mess, add half of the flour mixture in at a time, and mix on low. If using a hand mixer, do this at the lowest speed possible (make sure that your mixer has this option!).
3. The cookies must be cooled completely before adding the glaze, if you don’t wait the glaze might melt.
4. It’s important that your cookies are uniform in size, this will make sure that they bake evenly.
5. If you want to make the cookies very round, roll them very quickly between your palms. The dough will be very soft to work with, so you will need to use a cookie scoop to quickly portion out the dough.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 98kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 48mg, Potassium: 23mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 131IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Little Sunny Kitchen