So what do you do when you send your hubby to the store for ricotta and he comes home with a 32 ounce VAT of the stuff? Send him back for a lemon. 😉 😀

Best grocery mistake ever! While he was gone, I went through an old, tattered folder, (one of MANY that I have stashed all over the house!), and found my old hand-written scribbled down recipe that I got from a co-worker many years ago for ricotta cookies, that she received from her Italian Grandmother. These cookies were a holiday tradition at their house, and I still remembered them from when she brought them in to work all those years ago.

These cookies are light and delicate, like little pillows of heaven, and use the simplest of basic pantry items, like all wonderful family heirloom cookies do! No one bakes like our Grandma’s did! Only using what they had on hand, to create an extremely flavorful recipe from almost nothing, is what I love best. Things don’t have to come in posh packages to be good. 😉 

They also don’t need to be PILED with gobs of junk to be delicious, either. Sometimes less is more. 😉

Not only are these cookies themselves feather light, and ever so delicately tasting of cheese and bursting with fresh lemon flavor, they get an extra treatment of lemon flavor from a simple confectioner’s glaze as well!  

One of my favorite lemon cookies that I’ve ever tasted. They taste like Grandma herself made them special just for you. 😉

And to me, that’s what a cookie should be about. 😉 If one bite can bring back fond memories, then you’re making it right. 😉  

I only wish that my own Grandmothers were all still here and we could enjoy these wonderful cookies together. Sitting at the old kitchen table with the care-worn and tattered tablecloth with it’s many faded stains from us grandkids spilling, sipping hot coffee and tea.

I hope these delicious and heartwarming cookies bring back fond memories for you, too! And that these join your holiday trays this year as well. They’re easy as pie to make, so very refreshing, and loved by all!  

Take care everybody, and let the holiday baking begin! 😀 Much love! ~Kelly

Yield: 21 cookies

Old-Fashioned Glazed Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 stick butter, softened/room temp
• 1/2 cup regular sugar
• 1/2 cup vanilla sugar, can sub regular
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1 cup thick ricotta cheese
• zest from half a lemon chopped fine
• juice from half a lemon
• For Glaze:
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, scoop and level method
• zest from other half of lemon
• juice from other half of lemon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375º F.

For Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, and beat until mixed. Add ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix to combine. On low, mix in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough, (2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. You will get 21 cookies. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from oven, and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Place cookies onto a rack and place rack back onto same parchment-lined baking sheet.

For Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about a 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of your spoon to gently spread all over the top of the cookie. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.