Servings: 24 cookies, Total Time: 45 min, Active Time: 20 min
Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, with Dairy-Free option
Being Sicilian, I grew up eating all the citrusy cookies and pastries from our nearby Italian market. The Lemon Ricotta cookies with the THICK glaze were among my absolute favorites. You can roll these into a traditional ball or you can roll and press them flatter for a typical cookie shape. For glaze dipping, I recommend the former. It's SO easy to make these dairy-free because of all the great dairy-free ricotta cheeses available now. But I kept the dairy in these because....well, I felt like it! I've made them DF 90% of the time, and so truthfully these can be made with the almond Ricotta and there is little difference. Make it work for you. Lastly, change up the flavor if you feel like it! Use limes or oranges instead. I have made one version that was vanilla/vanilla bean that was divine! Experiment. Make it your own. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3/4 cups fine almond flour
3/4 cups cassava flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup European butter (like kerrygold), or 1/4 cup Earth Balance(vegan) You want the buttery taste so don't use coconut oil, or shortening
1 cup granulated monkfruit sugar, I use Lakanato
8 oz ricotta cheese, or 1 package (8oz) of Kite Hill's Almond Ricotta
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest (don't forget to zest before you juice!)
Glaze:
3/4 cup monkfruit powdered sugar, I use Lakanato
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest (don't forget to zest before you juice!)
1-3 tablespoons milk (or non-dairy alternative)
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flours and baking powder and salt then whisk it thoroughly.
3. In stand mixer with paddle attachment OR in a medium bowl with hand mixer, cream butter with sugar until fluffy and fully combined, about 5 minutes.
4. Beat in ricotta, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
5. Beat in dry ingredients, when it starts to get thick remove the paddle or whisk attachments and start to fold by hand with spatula.
6. Roll dough into balls and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Press down slightly with your palm. I like to use an ice cream scoops to measure out the exact size ball I want. But you can use a spoon and just guess-timate about 1-2 tablespoons per cookies.
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the bottoms are browning. There may be some cracks on the top. The cookies will feel too soft or undercooked on top. That's fine. They will harden while they cool.
8. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5-7 minutes while you prep the glaze.
9. Glaze: Sift the powdered sweetener into a bowl, add the lemon juice and zest. Whisk together. If it's too thick, add milk 1 tbsp at a time until desired thick-yet-dippable consistency is achieved. Whisk until smooth and no lumps/chunks remain.
10. While still warm, dip the top of the cookies into the glaze and place onto a baking rack too cool/drip.
11. When all the cookies are glazed, place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes for the glaze to harden. Transfer to an air sealed container and enjoy room temp or chilled(my fav).
If you make this recipe or do a rendition, please let me know! Tag @chefsarahrusso
