Blood Orange Ricotta Cookies
Soft and pillowy blood orange ricotta cookies are a citrus dream!
I like to think of blood oranges as the darlings of the citrus world, and I can’t help but gather far more than I can conceivably use when they come into season (In fact, this may be the year to plant my own tree!). It’s only sensible, then, to use them in everything from salad dressing to cocktails to blood orange ricotta cookies!
Imagine ethereal citrus clouds, and you come close to these cookies. Ricotta adds a dreamy soft and pillowy texture that pairs beautifully with fragrant citrus zest. Dipped in naturally tinted blood orange glaze, these melt-in-your-mouth blood orange ricotta cookies are all too easy to devour.
Print
Imagine ethereal citrus clouds, and you come close to these cookies. Ricotta adds a dreamy soft and pillowy texture that pairs beautifully with fragrant citrus zest. Dipped in naturally tinted blood orange glaze, these melt-in-your-mouth blood orange ricotta cookies are all too easy to devour.
Print Blood Orange Ricotta Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes (includes chilling)
- Yield: 28 cookies
Description
Soft and pillowy blood orange ricotta cookies are a citrus dream!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp blood orange zest
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp pure almond extract
- 1 large egg
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp blood orange zest
- 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp blood orange juice
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar and blood orange zest in a large mixer bowl at medium speed light and fluffy. Mix in ricotta, vanilla, and almond extract, then beat in egg until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; beat just until incorporated. Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Spray a medium cookie scoop lightly with nonstick spray; scoop 1 1/2-inch balls of dough and place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, for 14 to 15 minutes, until pale golden and set. Cool for 3 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, powdered sugar, blood orange zest, and juice in a small bowl. Dip tops of cookies into glaze and let set before serving. If not serving cookies immediately, store unglazed in an airtight container at room temperature and glaze just before serving.
Notes
Inspired by White On Rice Couple and adapted from NYT Cooking.
Nutrition
- Calories: 125
- Carbohydrates: 18
Keywords: Blood Orange, Ricotta, Citrus, Cookie
Chocolate Perfected
5 Secrets to Baking Decadent Chocolate Desserts
More blood orange recipes you’ll love:
Blood Orange & Almond Scones Blood Orange CookiesThis post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
These are perfect thank you! I only chilled them for an hour and a half but they still came out amazing. Thanks so much for this recipe!
★★★★★
Anybody else have trouble with the frosting turning colors? I made them in the evening, frosted the cookies once they were almost totally cool, and in the morning the frosting had turned BLUE and looked like it had completely molded. Of course, I tasted one (or two) to make sure that it wasn’t mold, but the only thing I could figure was that the acidity in the frosting reacted with SOMETHING to turn them a very unappealing blue – everywhere but the outer edges.
Thoughts?
Hi Rebekah, this can happen due to a reaction between the citric acid and the baking soda in the cookies. To alleviate this problem, I glaze the cookies and serve them right away, or store them unglazed until I’m ready to serve them. Hope that helps for the future!
Thanks! I thought it was probably something like that, but wasn’t sure of the chemistry details. Thankfully everyone at work still liked them, and now I know to leave the frosting off until just before eating. Appreciate your reply!
Any suggested substitutes for almond extract? Vanilla extract?
Hi Jazzmin, you can either omit the almond extract with no substitution since the recipe already includes vanilla, or add a bit more vanilla extract if you prefer.
These look so pretty!
These cookies look too lovely to eat! Of course, that wouldn’t stop me from enjoying them for too long. 😉
I absolutely adore blood orange season and try to use them in ALL the things this time of year. These cookies look like the perfect way to get my blood orange fix! LOVING the ricotta in here! Seriously drooling over here! Cheers and thanks for sharing the YUM!
This cookie looks so divine! I really love the blood orange glaze. The color is perfect! I need to find some blood oranges now 🙂
I ADORE these cookies! And I’m loving how that glaze is so pink and yet it’s all natural colour. Isn’t nature glorious?! Simply beautiful, and I bet they taste lovely.
Oh Laura, these are gorgeous and so perfect for Valentine’s Day (I’m thinking ahead 😉 ) – I am in love with blood oranges; what a great way to use them!