Light, soft, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, these lemon ricotta cookies are the perfect sweet Southern treat for summer. Made with both fresh-squeezed lemon juice and zest, they’re bursting with bright citrus flavor in every bite. Baked at 350°F for just 12 minutes and finished with a simple two-ingredient glaze, they’re irresistibly soft with just the right touch of sweetness! Yields 44 small cookies.

I love lemon-flavored anything!
In my personal opinion, lemon anything is HIGHLY underrated! Especially lemon desserts! Soft lemon blueberry cookies with a cream cheese frosting or lemon and blueberry ricotta pound cake or creamy 5 minute lemon fruit dip ... GIMME ALL OF THEM! These sweet little tender lemon cookies are no exception and perfectly paired on a summer Southern afternoon eaten on the back porch washed down with a glass of sweet tea. Bliss!
These cookies are a nice change of pace from your normal chocolate chip cookie. They are super tender and cake-like. Made with zest and juice from a lemon and topped with a simple glaze made from just two ingredients - lemon juice and powdered sugar. Let me show you how I like to bake these up in my kitchen.
Lets bake cookies together!
First - preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with some parchment paper.
Recipe
Soft Lemon Ricotta Cookies with 2 Ingredient Glaze
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 44 1x
Description
Light, soft, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, these lemon ricotta cookies are the perfect sweet Southern treat for summer. Made with both fresh-squeezed lemon juice and zest, they’re bursting with bright citrus flavor in every bite. Baked at 350°F for just 12 minutes and finished with a simple two-ingredient glaze, they’re irresistibly soft with just the right touch of sweetness!
Ingredients
- 1 Stick Butter
- 1 ½ Cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ½ Cups Whole Milk Ricotta
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Bean Paste
- 2 ½ Cups Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- Zest and Juice of 2 Lemons
Glaze
- Juice and zest of ½ lemon
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (for 3-4 minutes)
- Add in eggs and mix until just combined (about 30 seconds).
- Add in the ricotta cheese and vanilla, and mix until incorporated.
- Add in the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until combined. The dough will be quite sticky.
- Add the zest and juice of 2 lemons, and mix with a spatula until all mixed into the dough.
- Scoop out onto a baking sheet using a cookie scoop and place in the oven to bake for 12 minutes.
- Once finished, remove from oven and let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- In a small bowl add in the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and juice and whisk until smooth with no lumps remaining.
- Drizzle the lemon glaze over the cooled cookies and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert - Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 101
- Sugar: 9.7 g
- Sodium: 64 mg
- Fat: 3.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.7 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 18.3 mg