Lemon Ricotta Cookies are soft and fluffy, loaded with irresistible lemon flavor! The cake-like texture is downright dreamy, and the vibrant lemon flavor is irresistible! Tart and sweet, each bite of our lemon ricotta cookie is melt-in-your-mouth good and will transport you to a quaint, Italian cafè.

A partially eaten lemon ricotta cookie on a stack of cookies.

If you’re a fellow lemon lover, we know these cookies are for you (also, you might be interested in these Triple Lemon Cheesecake Bars and our crispy lemon cookies 😉 ). This recipe for lemon ricotta cookies is topped with a sweet lemon icing and sprinkled with fresh lemon zest for extra pucker.

And what can we say about lemon with ricotta other than it is a dream combination that just works. The vibrant lemon flavor pairs beautifully with the light, richness of ricotta cheese.

Why this Recipe Works

If you’ve ever had Nordstrom lemon ricotta cookies, these are similar in flavor and texture. The recipe is simple to follow and it makes about five dozen cookies, which means there’s plenty to share!

Our lemon ricotta cookies are:

soft and fluffy with a deliciously cake-like mouthfeel
lemon-y in every bite, from the tender cookie to the sweet glaze and lemon zest topping
easy to prepare (you can make the dough up to three days in advance!)
perfect for any occasion

Iced ricotta cookies with lemon zest on top of the icing.

The Ingredient List

To make these lemon ricotta cookies, you’ll need your standard cookie items, like flour, sugar, butter, etc. The fresh items are lemon, ricotta, and eggs.

Here’s the full ingredient list:

All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Granulated sugar
Butter, softened
Eggs
Lemon zest and juice (zest for the cookies and lemon juice for the lemon icing)
Ricotta cheese
Vanilla extract
Lemon oil
Powdered sugar

Lemon oil will give the cookies a cleaner, more vibrant flavor than lemon extract (we also used it in our blackberry lemon pound cake. Choose a lemon oil made for culinary use. You can also use lemon emulsion which also gives a vibrant lemon flavor.

How to make Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Our dreamy lemon ricotta cookie recipe is quite simple to follow and worth every effort!

Here’s how to make them (for the full recipe and ingredient amounts, be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page and read the printable recipe card):

Combine dry ingredients: We like to sift or whisk them together to get rid of any lumps.
Beat the butter and sugar, and add the remaining ingredients: You can use a stand mixer or a hand held electric mixer.
Chill the dough, then bake: Cover the mixing bowl and chill the dough for 2-3 hours. Drop 1 tablespoon dollops of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake.
Cool: Remove the cookies from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes. Transfer them to a cooling rack.
Make the icing: Dip the tops of the cookies in the lemon icing and place them on a cooling rack to dry.

Lemon icing drying on top of ricotta cookies.

These lemon-loaded cookies are sweet and sunny and will brighten up your day! Happy baking, friends!

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

Our Triple Lemon Cheesecake is for lemon lovers. This light, creamy, lemon-y treat has lemon flavor in every layer! From the lemon Oreo crust to the lemon cheesecake filling and zesty lemon curd, there is lemon goodness in each bite.

This Creamy Whole Lemon Tart uses whole lemons, peel, and all. A delicious lemon custard in a sweet shortbread pastry shell is the perfect slice of summer with a bold citrus flavor.

These are the easiest banana cookies! They’re soft and yummy with a delicious cake-like texture and richness from chocolate chips. Stir in add-ins of choice like coconut or nuts for a bit of crunch and enjoy!

You just can’t beat this classic sugar cookie! It’s super soft, melt-in-your-mouth, and is topped with colorful sugar sprinkles for a sweet finish.

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Lemon Ricotta Cookies

These lemon ricotta cookies have a soft, fluffy, cake-like texture and a vibrant lemon flavor. You can make the dough up to three days in advance and the finished cookies freeze well.

This recipe makes five dozen cookies….plenty for sharing 😉

4.95 from 20 votes

Print Pin Save

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 30

Servings: dozen cookies

Calories: 179kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour
1-½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter softened
2 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1-¾ cups ricotta cheese 15 ounces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon oil

Lemon Icing

3 cups powdered sugar
5 to 8 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl (the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Whisk or sift to remove any lumps.
In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until well blended.
Add the lemon zest, ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, and lemon oil. Beat until well combined.
Stir in the dry ingredients. Cover the mixing bowl and chill the dough for 2 to 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Drop 1 tablespoon dollops of dough on a baking sheet. Space them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 1 to 2 minutes then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
Add the powdered sugar to a medium sized bowl. Stir in 5 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Gradually add more lemon juice until you get a consistency that lightly coats a spoon.
Dip the tops of the cookies in the lemon icing and place them on a cooling rack unit the icing dries.

Notes

Lemon oil will give the cookies a ‘cleaner’ more vibrant lemon flavor than lemon extract. Make sure you use culinary-grade lemon oil and not the kind of lemon oil that gets used for aromatherapy.
You can substitute the lemon oil for lemon extract but if you can get your hands on culinary lemon oil, the cookies will have a more vibrant lemon flavor.