Italian Orange Ricotta Christmas Cookies with Glaze
These Italian ricotta cookies are orange flavored and decorated for the holidays with an orange glaze and red and green sprinkles.
Servings: 64
Calories: 54.7kcal
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
Ingredients
Ricotta Cookies
- 2 cups (9 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese drained if wet (See Notes)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- Festive sprinkles
Instructions
Ricotta Cookies
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Pro-tip: For the best and most accurate results, weigh the flour.
- In a large bowl, rub the orange zest and sugar together between your fingers until the sugar is lightly damp and aromatic.Cut the room temperature butter into tablespoon sized pats and add it all to the sugar. Mix well using a hand electric mixer or a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. The mixture will lighten in color from the air being beaten into the butter.
- Add the ricotta cheese, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by hand until just combined.Pro-tip: You can use an electric mixer on low for this, but I recommend doing it by hand for a tender cookie.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Use a small-size cookie scoop to measure out about 1 tablespoon cookie dough. Roll it into a ball and place on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, arranging the balls of cookie dough about 2" apart.You'll need to do this in batches, so refrigerate the dough between batches.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are firm and the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. Cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before sliding them onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Orange Glaze
- Sift the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl to remove any lumps. Stir in orange juice and orange zest using a fork until well combined.Pro-tip: I use a wire mesh strainer to sift the powdered sugar.
- Once the cookies completely cool, hold each cookie upside side and dip the tops into the glaze. Return the cookie to the wire rack and decorate with festive sprinkles.Pro-tip: The glaze starts to set up fairly quickly so I glaze 4 cookies at a time, and then decorate them before continuing to glaze the next set of cookies.
- Store on the counter at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-5 days or in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Notes
- Weigh the flour using kitchen scales for the best, most accurate results. Otherwise, fluff the flour with a fork and carefully spoon it into a measuring cup for an accurate amount.
- If your ricotta cheese appears wet, drain the ricotta before using. Most store-bought ricotta will be dry enough without draining. However, if you need to drain it, line a mesh strainer with paper towels to drain.
- One large navel orange yields 2-3 tablespoons of zest and about ½ cup of juice.
- Chill the dough for at least 1 hour or for as long as 2 days before baking. This makes the dough much easier to work with when rolling the dough into balls and prevents the cookies from spreading too much while they bake.
- These Orange Ricotta Cookies won't change much in color when they bake. They're ready when the edges are firm to the touch and their bottoms are slightly brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before adding the glaze.
- Sift the powdered sugar to remove any lumps.
- Add the sprinkles immediately while the glaze is still wet.
- Let the glaze set completely before storing the cookies.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 54.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 8.7mg | Sodium: 36.1mg | Potassium: 11.2mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 67.2IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 17.1mg | Iron: 0.2mg