Tender Italian Vanilla Ricotta Cookies Recipe Melts In Your Mouth by Jan Mostrom

If you are looking for a light, fluffy, moist and not-too-sweet cookie, this Italian vanilla ricotta cookie recipe is what you're looking for. The ricotta adds an element of lightness and moisture that is unusual in a cookie. This Italian cookie recipe is wonderful because it makes a lot of cookies that can be shared, or the dough frozen to make another time. Try these tender vanilla cookies with afternoon tea, coffee or cocoa for just the right treat any time.

Here is your shopping list for this melt-in-your-mouth cookie recipe: flour (gluten-free or all-purpose), baking soda, salt, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, milk and optional fresh lemons. If you are like one of my friends and love the combination of lemon and ricotta, just add lemon zest and lemon juice where indicated and enjoy the brightness! 

If you want to freeze the unbaked cookie dough, scoop cookie dough into balls and place on parchment in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and place into airtight container to bake at a later time. You can also use this method to freeze the baked cookie. After you glaze the cookies add a piece of parchment paper in between cookie layers after you pre-freeze them so they don’t stick together.

Serve these amazing ricotta cookies for dessert or as a sweet snack during the day. They also make wonderful food gifts for friends and family during the holidays.

Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 20 minutes plus time to chill 
Cook Time: 12 to 15 minutes
Total Time: 22 to 35 minutes plus time to chill 
Servings: 60 (small cookies) or 30 (large cookies)

Ingredients

Cookies

• 4 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened 
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested (optional)

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons milk (more if needed)
• juice from 1 large lemon, optional (if using lemon juice reduce the amount of milk to 2 tablespoons)

Here's how to make it: 

1. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
   
2. In another mixing bowl beat sugar and butter together with an electric mixer on medium for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until creamy and well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. If you use regular salted butter omit the added salt.
   
3. Blend in the ricotta, vanilla and lemon zest and juice, if using, and mix well. You could substitute 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
   
4. Gently add one-third of the dry ingredients at a time into the wet ingredients, mixing well in between until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. No need to over-mix. Cover cookie dough and place into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
   
5. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop your cookie dough into small cookies (2 tablespoons should make 60) or larger balls (will make 30). I made the large cookies with a normal ice cream scoop.
   
6. Place into the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat until the dough is finished.
   
7. While the cookies cool make your glaze by mixing all the glaze ingredients and blending well with a fork or whisk. The glaze will be a bit lumpy.
   
8. Dip upside-down cooled cookies into the glaze and return them to the rack or parchment paper. Repeat until all the cookies are glazed. Store the cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
   

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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