Italian Ricotta Cookies

There are certain recipes that make an early morning treadmill session far more pleasurable. We all exercise for different reasons and mine is usually because I like to eat what I bake :) If finding a balance means working out AND being able to enjoy these Italian Ricotta Cookies, then I'm a happy baker.

For me a cookie should be soft and have an almost cake like texture. I'm not a fan of chewy cookies or biscuits and if I do eat them I have to dunk them in a hot drink first.
Italian Ricotta Cookies are traditionally served at Christmas but obviously I ignore that and make a batch whenever the craving strikes. There are heaps of recipes out there, all with different glazes or flavourings but I thought I'd share mine with you anyway. Oh lets be honest, it was just an excuse to bake some because you know......cravings ;)

I add lemon zest to my cookies to give them that zing of flavour I love so much. Orange zest works just as well so decide for yourself what flavour you feel like today.
I like a thick coat of glaze and I'm totally prepared to spend an extra five minutes on the treadmill if its means I can smear a big blob of that across the top of my cookies. My glaze is made with cream and icing sugar so its rich, thick and silky and totally delicious.

You can decorate them any way you like. I love sprinkles (are you seeing a pattern here?) but think any sort of sugar sprinkle, slivered almonds, lemon/orange zest, poppy seeds, ground pistachio's, dried cranberries or coconut flakes. Be creative!

They're very easy to make and its all done in your electric mixer so cleanup is minimal. Here's a few keys things to remember when baking these Italian Ricotta Cookies:

Your dough should be moist and a little sticky. Add your dry ingredients slowly but be careful to not overwork the dough.
I blob spoonfuls on the baking trays and let them do their thing but if you want to shape them, lightly dampen your hands with some cold water and they wont stick to your fingers.
Give them space on the baking trays to puff up and spread. I put about eight on each tray.
They bake in around 9-10 minutes and they are ready once they start to brown up around the bottom. Keep a close eye on them so they don't overcook, you want them soft and spongy on the inside.
Carefully remove them from the tray as soon as you take them out of the oven. If you leave them on the trays they will continue to cook so you need to get them cooling on wire racks as quickly as possible.
Make sure they are completely cool before you glaze them and store them in an air tight container (if they last long enough to store).

My recipe makes around 24 cookies depending on how big you make them. I always start with good intentions and use a heaped tablespoon of dough but they seem to get bigger as I go along. Its all good, its my treadmill time right? ;)

If you would like to try my Italian Ricotta Cookies you click on the link or right click on the photo below and save to your computer for later.

They really are a beautiful cookie to enjoy anytime of the year, and you don't need a special occasion to bake them; you can bake a batch right now and thank me later :)

OK, I'm off to exercise.....and by exercise I mean walk all the way across the room to get another cookie. Its all about balance right? ;)