Lemon Ricotta Cookies a soft cake like cookie topped with a vibrant Lemon glaze making the BEST fresh Lemon Ricotta Cookie Recipe. Perfect for any occasion and truly a favorite cookie recipe.
Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies have the perfect balance of fresh and sweet flavors.
Made with fresh lemon zest and fresh lemon juice, these cookies have a bright lemon flavor, and the delicious glaze on top is a must!
These Italian cookies pair wonderfully with a hot cup of coffee, or with a cold glass of milk for an afternoon snack.
Make them for a baby shower, a birthday party, or as part of your holiday cookie platter for something a bit different!
They are also super easy to make, requiring only 10 minutes of hands-on time.
For more delicious recipes for lemon lovers check out my Lemon Curd Cookies, these Lemon Cheesecake Bars, Frosted Lemon Cookies and these Betty Crocker Lemon Oatmeal Bars!
Shopping List
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Almond Extract, Egg, Lemon Juice
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Ricotta Cheese, Lemon Zest
How to Make Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Make Lemon Cookies
Cut butter into cubes and combine with Granulated Sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer or stand mixer at low speed.
Increase speed as the mixture begins to combine.
Add Eggs and Almond Extract to the butter mixture and cream until light and fluffy.
Mix in Powdered Sugar and continue to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to mix all the ingredients together.
Add Ricotta Cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the cookie mixture and combine.
Gradually add the dry ingredients of All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt. Mix until fully combined.
Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 4 hours to chill. This is a very important step. The cookie dough is sticky and needs to be chilled for best results.
Preheat the oven to 375 F Degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
Using a size #50 cookie scoop, place the cookie dough on the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies at 375 F Degrees for 9-11 minutes. Bottoms will turn golden brown in color. Edges will be set, and cookies will be pillowy.
Remove the cookies from the oven and move them to the cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Lemon Glaze
Combine Powdered Sugar with Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest.
Using a whisk, combine the ingredients to make a glaze. Add additional lemon juice or water until the desired consistency is reached.
Dip the cooled cookies into the glaze, covering the tops of the cookies.
Place the cookies on a cooling rack and allow the excess glaze to drip off underneath. The glaze will set on cooled cookies in about 5-10 minutes.
FAQs
The dough really needs to chill for at least 4 hours, so you can make the dough ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to a day before making cookie dough balls and baking them.
Store cookies in a sealed container or Ziploc bag and keep them in the refrigerator. Place a piece of parchment paper between the stacked layers of cookies. Cookies are best enjoyed within a week of baking.
Freeze cookies in a sealed container or Ziploc bag. Place parchment paper between the layers. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Substitutions & Variations
- Extract. You can substitute the Vanilla Extract or Lemon Extract for Almond Extract in these cookies. All are delicious.
- Butter. Use salted butter in this recipe to enhance all the flavors. If you only have unsalted butter, add ⅛ teaspoon salt to the cookie dough.
- Orange. You can try making these cookies with orange zest and fresh orange juice for a different fresh flavor.
- Chocolate. Add some white chocolate chips to the cookie dough for an added burst of sweetness throughout the cookies.
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center and crispy edges, and is it chewy? Each of these makes a great-quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time, here are some pro tips.
To find out more, check out my Pro Tips Guide for making the best cookies every time!
Weighing Ingredients.
Baking is a science, and adding too much or too little of any of the ingredients will alter the recipe. Weighing and measuring dry ingredients properly makes a world of difference. Investing in a kitchen scale is ideal. When a kitchen scale is not available, make sure to stir and lift ingredients before scooping them into a measuring cup.
| Volume | Ounces | Grams | |
| All Purpose Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Bread Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Granulated Sugar | 1 Cup | 7 Ounces | 200 Grams |
| Brown Sugar | 1 Cup | 7½ Ounces | 213 Grams |
| Confectionary Sugar | 1 Cup | 4 Ounces | 113 Grams |
Cookie Scoop.
Using a cookie scoop keeps each ball of cookie dough the same size, which is essential for ensuring even baking.
Baking Sheets.
You can use an ungreased cookie sheet if you prefer. I like to use Parchment Paper to line baking sheets or a Silicone Mat for easy cleanup.
Chill Dough.
Chilling cookie dough is important. Do not skip this step. Cookie dough is very soft, and chilled cookie dough will bake without spreading, which is ideal for Lemon Ricotta Cookies.
Storing Separately.
Lemon Ricotta Cookies should not be stored with other cookies. The lemon flavor will seep into the other baked goods.
Cooling Rack.
Allow your cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Kitchen Scale. I use this for accuracy in measuring, and it's a lifesaver when it comes to consistent baking.
- Wire Rack for cooling cookies. I like to have at least two cooling racks to hand when I'm baking.
- Mixing Bowls. A Large Mixing Bowl for mixing ingredients and small and medium mixing bowls for other ingredients.
- Cookie Sheet. Most recipes will take 2 batches to bake. It's great to have multiple baking sheets available.
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat. Line the Cookie Sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and to prevent sticking.
- Cookie Scoop. A small #60 Cookie Scoop or a Medium Cookie Scoop #50 are great choices for uniform drops of cookie dough.
- Storage Container. An Airtight Container to store cookies or a Ziploc bag works great too.
- Additional supplies. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons along with a silicone spatula, are all helpful.
Have you tried this Lemon Ricotta Cookies recipe?
Let me know what you think of these lemon cookies! Tag @bestcookierecipes on social media so I can see how great your cookies turned out! I would also love to read your comments below. Let me know what you think of these cookies. It really does help!
More Fruity Cookie Recipes
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies
- Strawberry Lemonade Bars
- Blueberry Pie Cookies
- Strawberry Sugar Cookies
- Fruit Pizza Cookies
- Cranberry Bars
- Mango Oatmeal Cookies
Easy Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Cookies
- ½ cup Butter Cold
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar 200g,
- ¾ cup Powdered Sugar 98g
- 2 Eggs Large
- 2½ cups All Purpose Flour 300g + 2 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 15 ounces Ricotta Cheese
- 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest from 1 lemon
Glaze
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar 260g
- 4 tablespoons Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Make Lemon Cookies
- Cut butter into cubes and combine with Granulated Sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer at low speed.
- Increase speed as the mixture begins to combine.
- Add Eggs and Almond Extract to the butter mixture and cream until light and fluffy.
- Mix in Powdered Sugar and continue to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to mix all the ingredients together.
- Add Ricotta Cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the cookie mixture and combine.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients of All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt. Mix until fully combined.
- Cover the cookie dough and place it in the refrigerator for 4 hours to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F Degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
- Using a size #50 cookie scoop, place the cookie dough on the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake at 375 F Degrees for 9-11 minutes. Bottoms will turn golden brown in color. Edges will be set, and cookies will be pillowy.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and move them to the cooling rack to cool completely.
- Lemon Glaze
- Combine Powdered Sugar with Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest.
- Using a whisk, combine the ingredients to make a glaze. Add additional lemon juice or water until the desired consistency is reached.
- Dip the cooled cookies into the glaze, covering the tops of the cookies. Place the cookies on a cooling rack and allow the excess glaze to drip off underneath. Glaze will set on cooled cookies in about 5-10 minutes.
Notes
- Chill the dough: Chilling cookie dough is important. Do not skip this step. Cookie dough is very soft, and chilled cookie dough will bake without spreading, which is ideal for Lemon Ricotta Cookies.
- Storage tip: Lemon Ricotta Cookies should not be stored with other cookies. The lemon flavor will seep into the other baked goods.
- Store: Store cookies in a sealed container or Ziploc bag and keep them in the refrigerator. Place a piece of parchment paper between the stacked layers of cookies. Cookies are best enjoyed within a week of baking.
- Freeze: Freeze cookies in a sealed container or Ziploc bag. Place parchment paper between the layers. Freeze for up to 3 months.
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