Ricotta cookies are soft, cake-like Italian Christmas cookies topped with a sweet almond icing and nonpareil sprinkles. They’re easy to make and perfect for cookie platters!
Confession time: Despite having an Italian husband and mother-in-law, I’ve never truly loved the Italian Christmas cookies that come on big platters at the holidays. They’re traditional, and classic, but somehow… boring? Like pasta. All the same, but different shapes (I’m sensing a theme here, Italians! Just kidding…). BUT, I’d never made Italian ricotta cookies at home before. And these cookies are delicious! Soft, a little cakey, with plenty of richness thanks to the ricotta in the recipe. The ricotta doesn’t impart any flavor, but keeps the cookies moist.
Reasons to Love These Italian Ricotta Cookies
- Italian-approved. My husband AND his mother gave these cookies their seal of approval, so I’ll take that as a victory!
- Moist, melt-in-your-mouth texture. These ricotta cookies are classic, but extra flavorful with a deliciously soft, tender texture from the ricotta cheese.
- Easy to make. The cookie dough comes together quickly, and these cookies bake up perfectly every time. You can top them with icing and sprinkles, or leave them plain. It’s up to you!
What You’ll Need
These are the ingredients needed to make this easy ricotta cookies recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full list, amounts, and step-by-step instructions.
- Butter – I always bake with salted butter, but it’s a personal preference, and unsalted butter will work just fine. Bring the butter to room temperature.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar is best.
- Eggs – Bring these to room temperature, too, so they’re easier to mix with the batter.
- Ricotta Cheese – Ricotta is a soft Italian whey cheese, similar to cottage cheese. I recommend using full-fat ricotta cheese for the best richness and texture. You won’t taste the ricotta, but it does play a key role in keeping these cookies moist.
- Vanilla Extract – Or equal parts vanilla paste.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – Remember to check the expiration dates. If your leavening has been in the back of the pantry for longer than 6 months, or if it’s past its best-before date, you’ll want to buy fresh.
- All-purpose Flour – Measure the flour using the spoon and sweep method. Spoon the flour from the bag into the measuring cup, and level off the top with the back of a knife. You can also use a kitchen scale if you have one.
- Icing – I make a version of my easy sugar cookie icing to coat the tops of the cookies while they’re still a bit warm. It’s a simple mix of powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract. You can also add sprinkles if you’d like.
Do These Italian Cookies Have Anise?
They can, sure! But anisette cookies aren’t my favorite, so I used vanilla extract in these as well as almond extract in the glaze icing. This gives them a subtle almond flavor that I think is perfect!
To make anise cookies, go ahead and add 1 teaspoon of anise extract to the cookies and substitute the almond extract for vanilla in the icing. Or, use anise extract in the icing as well for more flavor.
How to Make Ricotta Cookies
Follow the steps below to make these soft Italian cookies with ricotta. You can make the cookie dough using your stand mixer or electric hand mixer; either way, it’s quick and easy.
- Make the dough. Start by creaming together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, ricotta cheese, vanilla, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Next, slowly add the flour to the wet ingredients, mixing just until the dough forms.
- Portion the cookies. Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into balls. Roll them smooth with your hands and place the cookies onto a lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake these ricotta cookies at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes. The edges should be slightly golden. Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the icing.
Icing the Cookies
I find that dipping the cookies in the icing works best. You can drizzle it on top as well, but dipping gives you a uniform coating and is much faster. Here’s how to glaze your Italian ricotta cookies:
- Make the icing. Whisk the icing ingredients in a bowl.
- Glaze the cookies. Dip the cookies in the glaze, and let the excess drip off. Place the glazed cookies on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to catch any drips.
- Add sprinkles. Top the wet icing with nonpareil sprinkles. The glaze will set quickly, and afterward, your cookies are ready to enjoy or store.
Easy Variations
The great thing about these ricotta cookies is that you can easily play around with flavors. Here are a few easy ideas to switch up how they taste:
- Citrus zest. Add lemon zest (or any citrus, like orange or lime) to the cookie dough or the icing. You can pair this with the vanilla extract in the recipe, or add in a few drops of lemon extract to really amp up the lemon flavor. Another option is to replace the milk in the icing with lemon juice.
- Coconut. Try adding coconut extract and skipping the sprinkles. Instead, add flaked or shredded coconut, or toasted coconut on top.
- Chocolate chips. Stir in a handful of mini chocolate chips. I mean, why not?
How To Store Ricotta Cookies
- On the counter. These cookies store easily, which makes them great to make at the holidays for your cookie tins or platters. Just store the cookies in an airtight container or zip-top bag and keep at room temperature for up to 5 days for best freshness.
- Freeze. Freeze these cookies in an airtight container for up to 30 days. Thaw at room temperature.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
Ricotta Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 36 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Ricotta cookies are soft, cake-like Italian Christmas cookies topped with a sweet almond icing and colorful sprinkles. They’re easy to make an perfect for cookie platters!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 cups all purpose flour
Icing:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3–4 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, ricotta cheese, vanilla, salt, baking powder, baking soda and mix for an additional minute until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour, mixing until a dough forms. Portion out the dough using a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop. Roll into balls and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden.
- Transfer to a wire rack.
- Icing: In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk, together until smooth. Spoon the glaze over warm cookies or alternately, dip the cookies into the gaze, and sprinkle with colored candy sprinkles.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days for best freshness.
Followed the recipe…total fail…never screw up anything…not sure what happened…even used whole milk ricotta….oh well…threw it all out. First batch spread and very flat and had to keep increasing the time…not worth the aggravation…will find another recipe for same type cookie.
Same with me! And I have made these twice before and they came out decent. Not sure what happened?
I made these yesterday as directed, and baked them for even longer than recommended and some appeared to still be “wet” on top on one cookie on the pan totally went flat on the pan during baking. But, once they cooled the other 11 cookies seemed just fine and delish. Any suggestions? Thanks again, I’m loving all your recipes!
Thanks so much for the comment. I have had this happen before… not with this recipe, but with others…and I always find that the reason this has happened is that it didn’t mix well enough and maybe I got a bit more butter in a cookie and it spread. Hope this helps, and glad the other cookies turned out!!
Just made these, delicious! The dough kept sticking to my hands while I was rolling, would you recommend keeping flour on hand?
If the dough is really sticky, you can adda tablespoon more, but I wouldn’t add too much, as it can dry out the cookies!
Keep the dough in the refrigerator over night
These are my favorites! My Grandmother made them with a lemon glaze. If you got a taste of her Italian cookie platter you would be a convert. Each cookie was so unique! Fig squares, lemon ricotta cookies, a peanut butter chocolate type thing, and almond shortbread…and more! I only wish I had the recipes. Only she knew them and we didn’t think to have her write them down ever. But I have a feeling your ricotta cookies will be a new favorite for my family.
Oops, I bought part skim ricotta, can I use it in this recipe or do I need to run back to the store?
These look wonderful. I will be traveling by plane how would you suggest I package these? Happy Holidays!!
I Would package them stacked in a hard, airtight container, so they won’t get squished!
I always love to eat this kind of sweet dishes. When it is a Italian food then it is one of my favorite!!!!! Thank you for sharing that lovely food recipe. If you love these kind of sweet dishes then you may visit my website which is full of sweet dishes also…………..
*These* look delicious! and I totally relate to you about the Italian cookie platters – and the concept of making 100 different cookies out of 1 mix! What’s the point of that?!
Hey!
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Hi! Can they be frozen?
Yes! I would wait to put the frosting on after they thawed, though!
My friend’s mother, a true Italian, froze them frosting and all. She put them on a tray to freeze them then once frozen quickly put them into double bags. They were still perfect right out of the freezer. (I ate so many. I couldn’t help myself!)
I freeze them with the frosting on and they thaw and taste great.
BTW you can change up this recipe by added, 1 teaspoon lemon rind, or 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the batter, or even 1/2 cup coco powder. When I use the coco powder, I also add coco powder to the icing too.
Yes, I’m Italian and I love these cookies!