Description
Sweet and tangy orange poppy seed ricotta cookies offer a delightful Mediterranean-inspired treat. Creamy ricotta and zesty citrus notes make these cookies a perfect companion for afternoon tea or morning coffee.
Ingredients
Scale
- 15 oz (425 g) ricotta cheese
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tbsps freshly squeezed orange juice
- Zest from 1 orange
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking trays with parchment paper for effortless cookie removal.
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and poppy seeds in a bowl, ensuring uniform distribution of spices and seeds.
- Flavor Infusion: Rub orange zest into granulated sugar, releasing intense citrus aromatics and creating a fragrant base.
- Creaming: Blend room-temperature butter with zesty sugar mixture until light, fluffy, and voluminously incorporated.
- Wet Ingredient Integration: Introduce eggs one at a time, then fold in orange juice, vanilla extract, and ricotta cheese, mixing until smooth and homogeneous.
- Dough Formation: Gently combine dry and wet ingredients, stirring minimally to create a soft, slightly tacky cookie dough.
- Portioning and Baking: Drop two-tablespoon portions onto prepared sheets, spacing evenly, and bake for 16-18 minutes until edges turn golden and surfaces set.
- Cooling Process: Rest cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack for complete cooling.
- Glaze Finishing: Whisk powdered sugar with orange juice and zest to create a silky glaze, drizzling over cooled cookies and allowing to set before serving.
Notes
- Zest Technique: Gently rub orange zest into sugar to release maximum citrus oils and enhance overall flavor profile.
- Room Temperature Matters: Ensure butter, eggs, and ricotta are at room temperature for smoother, more even cookie texture.
- Gentle Mixing Strategy: Avoid overmixing dough to prevent tough, dense cookies; fold ingredients just until combined.
- Cooling Critical: Let cookies rest on baking sheet briefly before transferring to wire rack to prevent breaking and maintain delicate structure.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25
- Calories: 178
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 55 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 22 mg