Ricotta Lemon Cookie リコッタチーズ レモンクッキー

I just made meat balls with Ricotta and parmesan cheeses using ground chicken instead of pork. I used only 2 tbs. from the container of ricotta. I mentioned to my wife that not only was that container open and mostly full but we were getting a back log of other ricotta cheese containers in the fridge, although luckily they hadn’t been opened. (Apparently, for some reason, every week we bought another container from the grocery store). I suggested to my wife that we should push using ricotta cheese for a while. Then, she saw the recipe of Ricotta cookies at King Arthur site. This was just what we needed and decided to make some. The original recipe used a glaze but we both agreed we did not need one. The original recipe also called for something called “ Fiori di Sicilia” which we didn’t have. But the recipe suggested micro-grated lemon zest and vanilla could be substituted for the “fiori di Sicilia” which is what she did. This turned out to be a great and not-too-sweet cookie. It has a soft consistency almost cake like rather than cookie. We had this as a part of morning breads (#1). We really liked it.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups (150g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup (41g) Semolina Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup (227g) ricotta cheese, whole milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Lemon zest from one lemon (micro-grated) or 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia*

Instructions
To make the dough: Weigh your flours; or measure them by gently spooning them into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. (The mixture will not be lightened in color or fluffy in texture.)
Add the egg and mix until fully combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat briefly. Add the ricotta, vanilla, and Fiori di Sicilia. Briefly mix to fully combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta mixture all at once. Mix slowly until no dry floury streaks remain. Cover the bowl or transfer the dough to an airtight container and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Scoop the chilled dough into generous tablespoon portions.
Place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them evenly apart (about 12 dough balls per baking sheet)
Bake the ricotta cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, until the edges of the cookies just start to turn light brown.

This was a very nice cookie. It had a soft cake like texture and the lemon flavor really came through nicely  giving it a light slightly sweet flavor. It went very well with our morning coffee. That excess of ricotta cheese won’t be around for long now that we have discovered these cookies.

P.S. Out of curiosity we bought some “fiori di sicilia” flavoring and tried it out in another batch of cookies. While the resulting cookies were very different in flavor from the ones make with just the lemon zest and vanilla, they were still very good. The flavor was much less lemon but had an intriguing somewhat floral after taste. The texture of the cookie was still moist and soft like the previous batch. Next time I may add more of the flavoring to see if I can make it a bit stronger.