Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies are the perfect Christmas treat to celebrate the sweetness of the holiday season. Every creamy, fluffy cookie bite is topped with a vibrant lemon vanilla icing and cheerful rainbow sprinkles. My family and friends can’t get enough of these cookies, and yours won’t either!
This classic recipe for Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies is sure to be a favorite in your Christmas cookie tin! With their subtle lemony flavor, the melt-in-your-mouth texture, topped with a sweet citrusy lemon and vanilla icing and a colorful sprinkle crunch! I used rainbow Nonpareil sprinkles, but any festive color scheme will do!
Ingredients for Lemon Ricotta Christmas Cookies
This recipe calls for basic ingredients, most all of which you already have on hand. You’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon
- Ricotta – use whole milk
- Vanilla
- Eggs
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
How to Make Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
- In an electric stand mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest until pale and fluffy.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla extract, then ricotta cheese.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Chill dough for 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop chilled dough out 1 Tbsp at a time and shape into balls, drop onto lined baking sheets.
- Bake in preheated oven 10-12 minutes until the underside of the cookies are lightly golden, then cool.
- Dip in glaze, add sprinkles, and let set.
Tips for Recipe Success
- Rubbing lemon zest with sugar is a technique used to release the flavorful essential oils from the zest and infuse them into the sugar. This process is commonly known as “muddling” or “macerating.” The citrus zest contains aromatic oils that carry the fruit’s distinctive fragrance and flavor. Using your thumb and pointer finger, pinch the zest into the sugar. Do this step before creaming the sugar with the butter.
- Use softened butter when making cookies. Softened butter has a higher moisture content, which makes it easier to cream with sugar. Creaming involves beating together softened butter and sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This process helps incorporate air into the dough, contributing to the cookie’s texture.
- Dampen your hands with water when rolling the cookie dough into balls, The moisture on your hands creates a barrier that helps prevent the cookie dough from sticking to your skin. This makes the process of rolling and shaping the dough more efficient and less messy.
Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies are the perfect Christmas treat to celebrate the sweetness of the holiday season. Every creamy, fluffy cookie bite is topped with a vibrant lemon vanilla icing and cheerful rainbow sprinkles. My family and friends can't get enough of these cookies, and yours won't either!
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 495g
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup Unsalted butter, at room temperature 226g
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 350g
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 ¾ cup ricotta, whole milk 15 oz
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Icing
- 1 Tbsp butter salted or unsalted, melted
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6-8 Tbsp milk
- sprinkles
Instructions
Cookies:
- In a mixing bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt, mix well and set aside.
- In small bowl, combine granulated sugar and lemon zest. Using your thumb and pointer finger pinch the zest into the sugar to incorporate the lemon zest into the sugar.** This fully infuses the lemon zest and sugar, releasing the citrusy oils and optimizing flavor. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment whip together butter, then add the lemon- scented granulated sugar, whip until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla extract, mix well. Lastly, add the ricotta cheese, mix again to combine. *scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl occasionally throughout entire mixing process
- Set mixer on low speed and slowly add in flour mixture and mix just until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop chilled dough out 1 Tbsp at a time and shape into balls and drop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. You should be able to fit about 24 on the baking sheet at a time.**if dough is too sticky dampen your hands to make it easier to roll.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes. The bottoms should be just lightly golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
Icing Cookies
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter, lemon juice, vanilla and 6 Tbsp milk until smooth. Add in more milk, 1 tsp at a time, to thin as needed.*You don't want it to be too thin or too thick. It should coat a spoon and slowly drizzle off.
- One by one, dip each cooled cookies into the icing, then return to wire rack. Sprinkle the nonpareil rainbow sprinkles over top each cookie right after they are dipped in icing.*Excess icing will drip off the cookie, so maybe lay down tin foil or plastic wrap to make clean up easier.
- Allow icing to set at room temperature before transferring cookies to covered containers.
Nutrition
Calories: 98kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 33mgPotassium: 32mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 119IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
