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This is the best recipe for Italian Ricotta Cookies. These cookies are light and cakey in texture, super soft, not too sweet and packed with fresh ricotta cheese. You'll love this version of the traditional Italian cookie for everyday baking and holidays!
These cookies are light and soft, delicate clouds. The other characteristic of this this cookie, which makes them instantly recognizable, is the white icing cap and rainbow nonpareil sprinkles. Not only delish, but pretty too!
I'm from an Italian family, but believe it or not, I didn't grow up with these cookies. Shocker, I know! These are pretty much a cornerstone cookie in every other Italian household I knew.
Either way, lucky for me, I was introduced to these amazing cookies later on and cookie-life has never been the same. Ricotta cookies are sooo insanely good. They're really not even cookies, but rather little cakes. They are a staple holiday cookie and a great use for leftover ricotta cheese. 
I've had Italian Ricotta Cookies from all different bakeries and I've had really good ones and really bad ones. The bad ones are dry, dense and stiff. This can happen if the dough/batter was overworked or too much flour has been added.
The secret to excellent, soft ricotta cookies is all in how you prepare the batter.
How to make perfect Italian ricotta cookies
It starts with the cheese
You want ricotta cheese to be on the drier side so your dough/batter doesn't get too wet. If the ricotta is too milky and wet, you'll end up with flat cookies. When I can, I like to use a high quality, small batch ricotta cheese. When that's not an option, I prefer to use Galbani brand whole milk ricotta cheese. This brand has the best; it's not too milky.
If you cannot find Galbani at your supermarket, any other whole milk ricotta will work fine. However, you'll likely need to remove some of the moisture from the cheese before adding it to your batter. You can do this by scooping the cheese onto a plate and blotting it with paper towels until most of the moisture is soaked up. Or, you could use a cheese cloth and allow the cheese to drain in a sieve overnight. I've always had to do this with Polly-O & generic brands.
You’ll know it's ready when the cheese is a little moldable and not stick to your fingers. It should not drip any milk when scooped out. As you can see below, there's no excess milk and the cheese retains its shape from draining. 
Then the flour - don't over mix!
To achieve that light, soft and delicate cakey crumb, you must properly measure your flour by spooning aerated flour into the measuring cup and sifting it. As mentioned, too much flour will make these cookies dense.
I'm not sure if I should share this with you...it might be breaking some baking rules, but I like to blend my AP flour with some Tipo 00 flour for these cookies. I find it gives the cookies lightness since Tipo 00 flour is very finely ground. If you're familiar with Tipo 00 flour, you know that it's normally used for making fresh pasta & pizza dough. Based on my research, this flour is not normally used for baking cookies or cakes. All the same, I find it makes the cookies extra light.
Be sure not to mix this batter too much once the flour and other dry ingredients are added. The more gentle you are, the more delicate and soft these cookies will be!
Here's how the final batter should look.
Other than fussing a little with the cheese & ensuring that your flour is properly measured and sifted, these cookies are easy to make. The batter comes together quickly and you can scoop it out right onto the tray.
How do I know when these cookies are done baking?
Keep a watchful eye on these cookies. They can over bake VERY easily! I bake them for about 10-13 minutes and look for light golden brown on the edges. Don't be alarmed if the bottoms of the cookies are darker than the sides. That's OK.
Avoid allowing these to get darker than shown here. 
The cookies should be soft and moist inside.If you find that the cookies are browning before the inside is finished baking, lower your oven temp a bit.
Adding Flavor
These cookies make a great base for different flavors. My favorite, is adding a touch of anise oil to the batter. You could use vanilla or almond extract too!
Lemon is also great! I've added fresh lemon zest and lemon extract. Lemon and ricotta are a natural pairing.
My Best Tips
-When you start to add the dry ingredients, use the hand mixer on the lowest speed setting until 98% of the flour is incorporated. At that point, stop and stir the remaining flour in by hand. Once everything is absorbed, stop mixing. The batter will be quite sticky and it's best to use a cookie scoop to scoop the batter onto the baking sheet.
-For the best presentation, I like to dip my fingers in water and gently tap the tops of the cookies to smooth out the tops a bit before sending them off into the oven.
-Once the cookies are finished baking, top with a simple glaze made from powdered sugar & milk. The glaze should be on the thin side, but not too thin. We want the glaze to drip down the sides of the cookie but not cover the cookie completely.
-Allow the glaze to dry for about 2 minutes before adding the sprinkles. Why? If the sprinkles are added while the icing is very wet, then they will likely bleed color into the icing and also drip down the sides of the cookie as the icing settles. 
Can I freeze ricotta cookies?
Yes! these are great freezer cookies. I read a lot of mixed feelings about whether to freeze these with or without the glaze. I find that the glazed cookies freeze just fine. The only hiccup is, as the cookies defrost, the condensation might cause the color of the sprinkles to bleed a bit.
These are great to eat straight from the freezer, so I never even get to that point. Hah!!
I hope you love this recipe for Italian Ricotta Cookies!!
Looking for more classic Italian cookie recipes? Check out my posts for Pizzelle & Italian Butter Cookies!
Italian Ricotta Cookies
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This is the best recipe for Italian Ricotta Cookies. These cookies are light and cakey in texture, super soft, not too sweet and packed with fresh ricotta cheese. You'll love this version of the traditional Italian cookie for everyday baking and holidays!
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 50 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies
- 1 c unsalted butter (softened at room temp)
- 2 c granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (room temp)
- 15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese (room temp, drained of excess moisture - I recommend using Galbani brand- no need to strain!)
- 1 tsp extract if desired (anise, vanilla, almond and lemon are good choices!)
- 3 ¾ c all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- a small bowl of water (set aside)
For the Glaze
- 6 tbsp milk
- 3 c powdered sugar
- Non-peril sprinkles for the tops!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
- In a large bowl, combine the butter & sugar until light and fluffy using a hand mixer (this will take about 2-3 minutes of mixing).
- Add the eggs and ricotta cheese. Combine until thoroughly mixed and there are no pockets of cheese. Add extract if using.
- In a separate bowl, measure the flour (be sure to aerate and scoop into the measuring cup) and sift. Whisk in baking powder and salt.
- With the hand mixer on the lowest speed setting, slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Once 98% of the flour is absorbed, turn off the mixer and stir the rest by hand using a spoon or spatula. Once you no longer see any flour, stop mixing. Do not over mix.
- Using a tablespoon or 1 ½ tablespoon sized cookie scoop, drop the batter onto the sheet pan.
- Dip your fingers in water and pat the tops of the cookies to smooth them out a bit. That way, the cookies won't have craggy tops!
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until puffy and barely golden brown. These are easy to over bake; pull them out of the oven once they start to brown on the edges.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray before moving them to a cooling rack to fully cool.
- Prepare the glaze by mixing the milk, sugar & optional extract into a bowl. Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and set on a rack. Wait 2 minutes before adding the sprinkes. Allow to sit until glaze harden (about 2 hours).
- These will keep for 3-4 days or up to 3 months frozen.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
Tips:
Cheese: You want ricotta cheese to be on the drier side so your dough/batter doesn't get too wet. If the ricotta is too milky and wet, you'll end up with flat cookies. When I can, I like to use a high quality, small batch ricotta cheese. When that's not an option, I prefer to use Galbani brand whole milk ricotta cheese. This brand works best for this recipe.
If you cannot find Galbani at your supermarket, any other whole milk ricotta will work fine. However, you'll likely need to remove some of the moisture from the cheese before adding it to your batter. You can do this by scooping the cheese onto a plate and blotting it with paper towels until most of the moisture is soaked up. Or, you could use a cheese cloth and allow the cheese to drain in a sieve overnight. I've always had to do this with Polly-O & generic brands.
You’ll know when it’s ready; cheese should be moldable and not stick to your fingers.
Flour: I like to blend my AP flour with some Tipo 00 flour for these cookies, but it's not necessary. I find it gives the cookies extra lightness since Tipo 00 flour is very finely ground. If you're familiar with Tipo 00 flour, you know that it's normally used for making fresh pasta & pizza dough. Based on my research, this flour is not normally used for baking cookies or cakes. All the same, I find it makes the cookies extra light!
If you're interested in using Tipo 00 flour, use 256g of this flour AND 2 cups of all purpose. This blend will replace the 3 ¾ c all purpose flour in this recipe.
*Lemon Variation of Ricotta Cookies*
If you're looking for something different, try adding a pop of lemon! Add the zest of two lemons to the dough and sub 2 tablespoon of lemon extract for the glaze in place of the milk
- Author: Liz at Owlbbaking.com
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: Italian
