Lemon Ricotta Cookies

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Little pillows of citrus heaven, that's how I would describe these cookies. One batch makes about 3 dozen and if I don't put them up immediately, my kids will eat them all in a day! When I photographed these, they ate through all but 6 in one afternoon. That's what I get for leaving them on the counter.

They're not super heavy and dense like you'd expect, but they're not super light and airy either. They fit perfectly somewhere in between. They're more cakey and not crispy. The lemon isn't overwhelming, but the icing is bright and in your face, but not obnoxiously so. They're legitimately the perfect cookie.

I make these every year as one of the many Christmas cookies I bake. I make double and triple batches of 5 to 6 different kinds, scoop or roll them and freeze them. I was a bit afraid of how well these little gems would freeze, since they had cheese in them, but I was very happy to learn they freeze just fine. I make them, flatten them, place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer for about an hour, then load them up by the dozen in freezer bags. When I'm ready to cook them, I place them on parchment lined cookie sheets, let them thaw and cook them like normal.

Even though I make these at Christmas, they're the perfect cookie for spring or summer. A dessert for a picnic, or cookout. They would also make wonderful teacher's gifts as well! Maybe I should get on that to go with the Starbucks gift cards I bought the boys teachers. They'd be amazing dipped in tea. Actually these would be absolutely perfect for an actual tea party. I could come up with so many reasons to justify making these cookies! 

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

makes about 3 dozen

click to print

• 1 lemon
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F and line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Zest, juice lemon and strain, set aside 3 tablespoons of juice for icing. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl beat, butter, sugar and zest until fluffy. Beat in ricotta, eggs and extract. Beat in flour mixture. Scoop onto parchment and flatten into disks, using the bottom of a drinking glass, dipped in flour. Leave 1 ½ inch space between each cookie. Bake 15-20 minutes and allow to cool. Stir together confection sugar and lemon juice and drizzle over cooled cookies. Allow to set up before serving.

*If you are making dough ahead and freezing, scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet and flatten and place in the freezer on the cookie sheet, allow it to freeze for about an hour then fill a gallon bag and toss back into the freezer. When you bake them, either thaw and follow original bake time in they're still frozen add 3-5 minutes to baking time. 

Happy cookie baking!

Until next time,

Ashley

Blood Orange Vanilla Lemonade

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Let's make some lemonade, you guys! Yes, I know it's still basically winter, but hear me out. This IS winter lemonade. Since blood orange season is only December through May, you can only make this in winter or spring soooooo I'm not crazy! Or at least, I'm not crazy because of this idea.

I love, love, love blood orange so much more than regular oranges. I think they're sweeter and have an almost berry-citrus flavor. Does that make sense? Yes? No? Maybe? Maybe the color is playing with my brain!? I buy them as often as I can get my hands on them. This lemonade is a must, a cocktail often occurs, maybe toppings for a salad, glaze for salmon, a pound cake with champagne, oh the possibilities! 

I made this a few years ago on a whim, for a family game night and we drank almost all of it that night. My sister took the rest home and has become a hardcore fan of it. Which reminds me, I set some aside for her. I need to take it to her ASAP. There is a good chance if I don't hurry it won't last long enough. 

Blood Orange Lemonade

Makes approximately 1/2 gallon

1 1/2 cup simple syrup (recipe follows)

3-4 lemons to equal 1/2 cup lemon juice

4-6 blood oranges to equal 1 1/2 cup blood orange juice

3-4 cups cold water * to taste

2 vanilla beans

Juice and strain lemons and oranges until you reach the needed measurements, add to drink container or pitcher. Stir in water and simple syrup. Split vanilla beans and add to lemonade and stir. Remove the vanilla bean after about an hour if you don't want a strong vanilla flavor. Store in refrigerator up to a week.

Simple Syrup 

makes about 1 1/2 cups simple syrup

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

In a sauce pan, combine and heat water and sugar, stirring until all sugar dissolves. Allow to cool to room temp before refrigerating. 

Cheers!
XO,
Ashley

Cherry Lemonade

This is a new favorite in our house.

In fact, it was a huge inspiration for my kids' birthday party.

I made  a Lemonade and Tea Bar. 

Basically we had a huge container of lemonade and a huge container of tea with tons of flavored simple syrups and cotton candy to add in.

The possibilities are endless to the dreamy concoctions that can be made.
More on that at a later date. 

I've tried to make this multiple times before and since but cherries never last long in my house. A certain tall, dark and handsome man keeps stealing them out of my fridge. He is a real problem with pluots too. I can't keep any good stuff around them. I really need to get faster about making these recipes.

This is perfect for a picnic or just a treat on a hot day. 

This is such a versatile idea too. 

Swap out the cherries for any fruit or stir in a teaspoon of an flavored extract to the simple syrup, if you prefer. 

Cherry Lemonade

(click to print)

4 lemons, juiced

1 cup cherry simple syrup (recipe follows)

3 cups cold water

10ish cherries, pitted and smashed

Combine all ingredients in you pitcher or serving container and give it a stir. 

Cherry Simple Syrup

makes 2 cups

25 cherries, pitted and sliced

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

In a sauce pan stir together your ingredients and heat it over a med-high heat until is comes to a slow boil. Turn the heat down to low, allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. 

It should last a week in the refrigerator, but mine is always gone within 2 days, so I make no promises. 

 Thirst quenching goodness!

xoxo,
Ashley