Orange Ricotta Cookies

Orange ricotta cookies are moist and soft, with the lovely flavor of orange, and just a bit of sweet icing. Make them with lemon, too. Delicious!

I have some of the kindest and most generous friends, and I love to repay them with things like these orange ricotta cookies.

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A few days ago, I received a text from my friend Gail, telling me she’d left a bag of blood oranges from her tree on my front doorstep. This is not the first time she’s done this. Gail knows I love pomegranates so she has left me bags of pomegranates on my front doorstep, too.

This would be a nice gesture if she only lived two doors away, but the fact that she is an extremely busy attorney who is also caring for her elderly mother and mother-in-law, and drives out of her way to bring these bags of fruit to me, is what I would consider going above and beyond the call of friendship duty!

Of course, having these beautiful specimens of citrus which were so juicy, sweet, and full of baking potential, compelled me to create something with them.

Another way to use blood oranges: a whole blood orange cake!

After a dismal failure with a cake, I had success with a cookie I have made several times in the past: lemon ricotta cookies. However, this time I made orange ricotta cookies. With an adaptation of a combination of two recipes, and the use of the blood oranges, these cookies turned out beautifully with a hint of pink in the icing!

They are almost like miniature cakes as the ricotta makes the cookies immensely moist. The added blood orange juice and rind in the cookie, as well as in the icing lends a wonderful flavor and it is very difficult for me to decide whether I like the lemon or orange flavor better.

One bonus in using the blood oranges is that they turn the icing a delicate pink color. You can absolutely substitute lemon in place of orange to make the original flavored cookie.

And if you have leftover ricotta after making these cookies, you can always whip up these insanely good lemon ricotta pancakes.

Orange Ricotta Cookies

adapted from a combination of Biscotti di Ricotta from Lidia Bastianich and
Lemon Ricotta Cookies from Giada De Laurentiis         makes 28 cookies

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

• butter
• sugar
• eggs
• ricotta
• orange
• orange juice
• (optional: orange oil, if you prefer a stronger orange flavor)
• all purpose (plain) flour
• baking powder
• salt

Icing

• 1 1/2 cups (190 g) powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
• grated rind of one blood orange
• 3 tbsp blood orange juice

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)

Directions

Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and creamy (2 or 3 minutes), then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between additions.

Next, add the ricotta, orange rind and 3 tbsp of the orange juice (and the orange oil, if using).


Mix well, then stir in the dry ingredients until an even dough is formed.

Drop tablespoonfuls onto a parchment or silicone sheet lined baking tray.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or just until the edges are beginning to brown. Remove the orange ricotta cookies from the oven. Allow to cool on tray for about 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.

Repeat with remaining dough, until all the cookies are baked. Allow to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, combine the powdered (confectioner’s) sugar, grated rind of one orange
and orange juice and stir until a smooth icing forms.

Dip each cookie into the icing…

then place back on cooling rack until icing is set.

Once completely dry, store the cookies in an airtight container.

The cookies are very cake-like inside and have a wonderful orange flavor!

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Orange Ricotta Cookies

Servings: 28 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes minutes

Total Time: 26 minutes minutes

A light, cake-like cookie with a lovely citrus flavor and sweet icing.

4.9 from 34 votes

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Special Equipment

• 1 baking sheet
• 1 stand mixer

Ingredients

• 4 oz butter (good quality, unsalted )
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups ricotta
• 1 orange rind (grated)
• 3 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 drops orange oil (optional, if you prefer a stronger orange flavor)
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Icing:

• 1 ½ cups powdered (confectioner’s sugar)
• 1 orange rind (grated)
• 3 Tbsp orange juice

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

Cookies:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
• Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and creamy (2 or 3 minutes), then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between additions.
• Next, add the ricotta, orange rind and the orange juice (and the orange oil, if using).
• Mix well, then stir in the dry ingredients until an even dough is formed.
• Drop tablespoonfuls onto a parchment or silicone sheet lined baking tray.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or just until the edges are beginning to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on tray for about 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
• Repeat with remaining dough, until all the cookies are baked. Allow to cool completely before icing.

Icing:

• Combine the powdered (confectioner’s) sugar, grated rind of one orange and orange juice and stir until a smooth icing forms.
• Dip each cookie into the icing then place back on cooling rack until icing is set.
• Once completely dry, store the cookies in an airtight container.

Notes

• Blood orange and any other orange work perfectly fine in this recipe. The only difference is the blood orange will make the icing pink.
• See my lemon ricotta cookie recipe, for a lemon-flavored cookie.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 cookies | Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 189IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

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Author: adapted by Christina Conte

Course Bread, Cookies & Pastries

Cuisine Italian

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