It’s guest week here at MSCK! This week’s posts will be provided by a close friend of mine, Hyun, and the photos taken by Bryan Johns (flickr link). Please make them feel at home!
-Liam
| ESTIMATED CALORIC INFO | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | 1 cookie |
| Calories from Protein | 9% |
| Calories from Fat | 20% |
| Calories from Carbs | 71% |
| Total Calories | 80 |
I love desserts. I would rather eat a dessert than a meal. Ask anyone who knows me.
Cookies are my favorite – it conjures up such wonderful images of children sitting around a kitchen counter with mom eating fresh made cookies and milk. I don’t have kids yet, but this will become a ritual in my household when I do.
When Liam asked me to guestblog, I knew this was the first recipe I would make. It’s so easy and I knew my talented friend Bryan would agree to take the pictures if I promised to give him half of the batch since it’s one of his favorite cookies. You cannot go wrong with bargaining with food (unless they get sick, but let’s not go there…).
This recipe comes from Giada De Laurentiis. I usually take recipes and try to put my own spin on it, but these cookies are so perfect the way they are – spins were not needed. Also, this is an interesting recipe because the cookies almost have almost a whoopie pie cake consistency…actually I think I’ll do that next time: Lemon Ricotta Whoopie Pies.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 13-15 minutes
Yields 44 cookies
Ingredients…
Cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese (I used part skim and it was fine)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zested
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
Stir flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Put aside.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time until fully and well incorporated. Add the rest of the wet ingredients: ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. After ingredients are combined, stir in the flour, baking powder and salt mix.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes (depending on your oven) until the edges are golden. Remove from oven and let it rest on the cookie sheet for about 20 minutes.
For the glaze (I recommend putting the cookies on a cooling rack since the glaze will drip) combine powdered sugar, juice and zest in a bowl. Stir until smooth. Spoon ½ teaspoon onto each cookie and spread it over the surface. Let the glaze harden (2 hours).
I recommend refrigerating the leftovers – they still stay soft.
What’s your favorite non-traditional cookie?
