Giada Lemon Ricotta Cookie Recipes

NONNA'S LEMON RICOTTA BISCUITS

Steps:

• Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins. Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

LEMON RICOTTA COOKIES

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375.
• beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time until encorporated, then add ricotta, lemon juice and zest until well blended.
• stir in dry ingredients.
• place parchment paper on cookie sheet and drop dough (I made heaping teaspoon sized ccokies, the original recipe called for 2 tablespoon sized but I think that is way to large) onto sheet. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
• let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes before spreading glaze on top.
• for glaze: combine lemon juice, zest, and powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon full onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden about two hours before storing in an airtight container.
• *** I ran out of glaze the first time I made these and it has a strong lemon flavor so use sparingly. The cooked cookies (before they're glazed) freeze well. If your ricotta cheese is very watery you may need to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour.