Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
By: Giada De Laurentiis

Cookies:
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15oz) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 Tablespoon lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
2 lemons, zested and squeezed for juice

Preheat oven convection 375 degrees

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

In a large bowl combine the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in dry ingredients.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 Tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges (cookies are not meant to be crispy; these are soft). Remove from oven and allow the cookies to rest on baking sheets for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Place wax paper under wire racks to catch glaze drippings!

Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, juice from 2 lemons, and zest from 2 lemons. Place in Ziploc bag. Cut tip and drizzle over cookies. With the back of a spoon, smooth the glaze over the top of the cookies. Let the glaze harden on the cookies for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container. Best served the day of, but if you need to keep leftovers place loosely in a container and loosely cover (don’t refrigerate); leave at room temperature.

Makes 32 cookies