Lemon Ricotta Bites, or a little bit of sunshine on your Friday

See?  I told you it would be impossible to keep me out of the kitchen for too long.  On Monday night, I was at a departmental dinner party, and the graduate studies admin, Belen, made these absolutely lovely meyer lemon ricotta cookies for dessert.  The tang of the lemon, with the lightness of the ricotta cookie--so light that it's almost like a cake!--really brought a ray of brightness and sunshine into my day.  There's just something about meyer lemon that makes me smile, in addition to the wonderful company at the party.  Thankfully, Belen was happy to share the source of the recipe, and I just had to replicate these cookies myself at home to power me through this week of proposal-writing.

Alright, now I'm headed back to work.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and if you need a little pick-me-up, these cookie bites are most definitely what I'd prescribe.  :-)

Also, my thoughts go out to those in Japan, as well as New Zealand--stay safe!




Meyer lemon ricotta bites
adapted from food network
makes ~40 cookies

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn salt
freshly grated zest of one meyer lemon
2 scant cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
3 Tbspn freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a mixer bowl, combine the meyer lemon zest and the sugar. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
4. Add the butter to the sugar and cream on medium high, until light and fluffy, about three minutes.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.
6. Beat in the ricotta cheese and lemon juice to the egg mixture.
7. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, mixing just enough so that they are well-combined.
8. Either using a spoon or a piping bag, spoon or pipe the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least an 3/4" between each cookie.
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the edges are just barely golden brown.
10. Remove the cookies from oven and let cool on the baking sheets for about twenty minutes. Transfer to a wire rack for glazing.

for glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
freshly grated zest of one-two meyer lemons
3 Tbspn freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

1. In a bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice until thoroughly combined.
2. Spoon about a half-teaspoon to a teaspoon over each cookie, using the back of a spoon to spread the glaze around.
3. Let harden for at least two hours before serving or storing.

Enjoy!