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Italian Ricotta Cookies are tender, fluffy, and topped with icing and sprinkles. Top them with your favorite seasonal sprinkles for an irresistible cookie that’s perfect for the holidays!
You’ll definitely want to add these Ricotta Cookies to your Christmas dessert tray. They look beautiful next to my Pinwheel Christmas Cookies and Molasses Cookies!
Why You’ll Love These Ricotta Cookies
When it comes to baking, I’m a cookie girl. Hands down. They’re my desert island dessert. Sure, a cake is great and I choose Black Forest Cheesecake as my birthday cake every year, but nothing beats a great cookie! These Ricotta Cookies are one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.
- They’re fluffy and tender, but not crumbly. The ricotta baking into the cookie dough just melts in your mouth.
- They’re topped with sprinkles! Who can resist a cookie with sprinkles?!
- You can make the dough up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate, or you can freeze it for up to 2 months.
- They’re versatile, and the perfect cookie for any holiday. Just change the sprinkles – red and green for Christmas, Red and blue for 4th of July, orange and black for Halloween!
How to Make Ricotta Cookies
This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies, and it’s a good thing! You’re going to want to share them with everyone. Or hoard them all for yourself. I’m not judging.
- Mix. Grab a large mixing bowl to combine the dry ingredients together and another large bowl to mix the wet ingredients. Then combine them together. Just as the last bit of flour disappears, stop mixing. Overmixing can cause the cookies to become dry and crumbly.
- Chill. Cover with plastic wrap, sticking it right to the surface of the dough. Place your mixing bowl in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You can leave it for up to 2 days if you need to, or freeze the dough for up to a month.
- Scoop. Using a small cookie scoop, scopp out the chilled dough and arrange it on a baking sheet.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange dough on the sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Cool. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla and melted butter. It will be kind of clumpy and that’s fine. Whisk in some milk and the glaze should start to smooth out.
- Dip. Once you have the right consistency, dip each cookie into the glaze. then place back on the wire rack. Add some sprinkles and let the cookies sit until the glaze hardens.
Other Ways to Use up Ricotta Cheese
These cookies! Obviously. But that’s not all. There are so many great recipes that use ricotta cheese!
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- One Pan Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta
- Lasagna Dip
- One Pot Stovetop Lasagna
- Spinach Baked Ziti
Storage and Freezing
Storage: Baked Ricotta Cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, although they are the freshest in the first 4-5 days.
To Freeze: Place the baked and glazed cookies on a baking sheet and pop that in the freezer. Once the cookies are frozen, transfer them to an airtight container. Layer the cookies in the container with waxed paper in between the layers. To thaw, place the container (or your desired number of cookies) in the fridge overnight or until defrosted.
More Christmas Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Christmas Cheesecake Cookies
- The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe
- Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
- The Best Ever Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
- Red Velvet Cookies
Italian Ricotta Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract see note
- 4 tablespoons milk
- Nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
Cookies
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar for 1 minute until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated each time. Add eggs, ricotta, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two additions. Mix until just combined after each addition.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Scoop dough into 1 tablespoon portions (a cookie scoop works great here as the dough is very tacky) and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until bottoms of cookies are golden. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
Glaze
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Add 3 tablespoons milk and whisk together. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. (You want it to drizzle off a spoon, but not be too thin.)
- Dips the top of each cookie into the glaze and return to the wire rack, top side up. Add sprinkles and let rest until glaze sets.
Notes
- You can substitute ½ teaspoon vanilla and ½ teaspoon almond extract in the glaze if you prefer.
- Stop glazing cookies and add sprinkles after dipping each dozen. If you wait too long for the sprinkles they won’t stick to the glaze.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
I made these for this past Christmas and my family enjoyed them! The only change I would make next time was to add lemon or cinnamon to the glaze rather than just vanilla (I did not add almond extract to the glaze, because we are not fans of it in my family).
Awesome feedback Lynne! Thank you so much for stopping by.
Hi Stephanie! My cookies came out flat like fluffy pancakes. I did chill the dough overnight and use a cookie scoop. Any suggestions?
Can I use 2% milk for the icing?
Yes.
Nice and easy recipe. Turned out very good.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Theresa.
Hi there. How should you store ricotta cookies? How long will they last? Thx!
As shared in the post – Storage: Baked Ricotta Cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, although they are the freshest in the first 4-5 days.
Do I freeze them with the glaze on? Can I layer them with wax paper? Thank you
Janis
Once the icing is dry you should be able to stack them. The icing might stick to the paper a little, so use your best judgement based on how your cookies turn out.
Can you freeze the dough? And for how long ?
Yes, freeze on a cookie sheet lined with parchment, and then once solid, place the dough balls in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
How do you store these without the glaze melting? I made them yesterday (they are DELICIOUS), stored them in an airtight container and the icing turned soft and now the decorations are melting.
You could try refrigerating them.
These cookies are awesome! I made a double batch and brought half to a party, where everybody who tried them complimented them. I froze the other half (the recipe really does make a lot of cookies, which I love!) and brought them to other peoples’ houses for coffee get togethers or for another dessert for a dinner party and everybody at those places also said they were the “best cookies ever,” and “my new favorite cookie.” I followed the recipe exactly, but with the optionally recommended 50/50 vanilla/almond extract ratios. Seriously make them, make double and freeze them! Thank you for this recipe.
You are so welcome Kendra! Fantastic feedback, thanks for stopping by to share.
They are delightful. Thank you.
So much like my Italian mother’s. ❤️😉
You are so welcome Paula! Thanks for stopping by.
I tried several ricotta cookie recipe and this was the first one that came out like my local Italian restaurant that makes them that I love!! I was leery as this was the only recipe that didn’t call for lemon zest but I didn’t miss it! I did the half vanilla/half almond extract in the glaze and that’s what made it superb! Best ricotta cookie recipe! 🙂
Fantastic feedback Dina! Thanks for taking the time to share.
I made these last night! Heavenly! Perfect cookies, perfect glaze!!!
That’s awesome Steph! Thanks for stopping by.