Day 9: Italian Ricotta Cookies

Day 9 with Crumbs and Chaos

Today’s guest(s) are from the blog Crumb and Chaos. Four sisters with 11 children between them and lots to share on food and crafts and everything in between. Welcome!

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Hi, I’m Megan from Crumbs and Chaos, a blog I write with my 3 sisters. We have 11 children between us, hence the name Crumbs and Chaos…we deal with our fair share on a daily basis. We love sharing our favorite recipes, tips on controlling the chaos and seeing awesome things from our readers every Saturday at our Seasonal Inspiration link party. I am honored to be here today at This Heart of Mine sharing this sweet treat with you.

When looking for a different cookie recipe for this holiday season I came across this recipe for Italian Ricotta Cookies. At first I thought, “Ricotta in a cookie??”. But then I just thought of wonderful flavor of the Honey Ricotta Turnovers and I immediately put this on my must try list.

They did turn out wonderfully. They have a moist cakelike texture which is different then most cookies. The cookies themselves aren’t too sweet, until you add the frosting of course. So I set a few aside that I didn’t frost for a not-so-sweet-or-messy treat for the baby Maddux. The original recipe that I found used a glaze frosting and I did use a glaze for the first half then decided to go for a buttercream frosting for the rest and liked that just as much, if not better. This definitely makes a big batch, so I would recommend sharing them with friends or relatives or using them as a gift for teachers!

ITALIAN RICOTTA COOKIES

Ingredients

For cookies:

2 cups SUGAR
1 cup BUTTER, softened
15 oz RICOTTA CHEESE
3 teaspoons VANILLA
1 teaspoon SALT
1 teaspoon BAKING SODA
4 cups FLOUR

For frosting:

4 Tablespoons BUTTER, softened
3/4 cup POWDERED SUGAR
dash of SALT
splash of MILK — adjust this based on the consistency of the frosting
1 teaspoon VANILLA

Food coloring (optional)

Sprinkles (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl beat sugar and butter until blended. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add ricotta and vanilla until well combined. In a small bowl mix salt, baking powder, and flour. Gradually add flour mixture until dough forms. Drop dough by the teaspoonful about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat beat the butter first, then slowly add the powdered sugar until incorporated. Then increase the speed of your mixer and add salt, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add food coloring if desired.

Frost cooled cookies and add sprinkles for a fun festive look. ENJOY!!

Recipe Source for cookie: All Recipes