Lemon-Cardamom Ricotta Cookies
The other day during one my regular refrigerator clean-ups, I found a container of unused ricotta cheese staring at me. I remembered buying it a while ago when I ventured into making a lemon ricotta cheesecake which I honestly, didn’t quite like. Maybe the recipe I tried was not the best out there. I didn’t want another cake this time and wanted something less complicated and less-time consuming. The first idea that struck me was cookies! And that’s when the Internet came to rescue. I did a quick search online and came up with a bunch of recipes including one from Giada de Laurentiis I liked more than others.
Giada’s recipe was for cookies with lemon glaze. I decided to skip the glaze part as I am not a big fan of light color glazes (dark chocolate glaze? yes please). Instead I dusted my cookies with powdered sugar. I also gave the cookies an Azerbaijani twist by adding just a little cardamom. The flavor of the cardamom married perfectly well with that of lemons.
Overall, I loved everything about these cookies - the taste, the texture (they are so soft), the looks! Below is the recipe with my modifications. If you want to make cookies without cardamom and with lemon glaze, check out Giada’s original recipe. Also, the original recipe says it yields 44 cookies, but I got only 22 ! I was happy with the results anyway - the cookies were not gigantic and were just a perfect size. Enjoy!
LEMON-CARDAMOM RICOTTA COOKIES
adapted from foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom (8 cardamom pods will give you about this amount of powder)
1 (4 oz / 115 g) stick unsalted butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce /425 g ) container part-skim ricotta cheese
juice from 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1. Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom powder. Stir to mix and set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. You should be able to get about 22 cookies (more if you put only one heaped tablespoonful). Do not spread the batter, just scoop spoonfuls of it on top of each other. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space between the cookies as they will spread while baking. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. They will be white on top. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Once cool, generously dust the cookies with powdered (confectioner’s sugar).
Enjoy! Nush Olsun!
- FERIDE - AZCOOKBOOK: ANNE - Does that mean there is
- Anne: my apples are sinking to the bottom
- Shannon: Thank you for your reply
I - FERIDE - AZCOOKBOOK: SHANNON - This is not a traditional
54 Comments Add your own
1. mimi | September 10th, 2008 at 11:32 am
these look terrifically delicious! i love lemon and ricotta, what an interesting additional taste with the cardamon. definitely want to try these next time i have some leftover ricotta!
2. grace | September 10th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
your cookies are pictures of perfection! they sounds extremely refreshing, and i LOVE cardamom. thanks for a terrific and unique recipe!
3. Ivy | September 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I love anything with lemon in it and I am totally in love with cardamom. They look delicious.
4. Rosa | September 10th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Oh, I love those! Delicious! Your cookies look fantastic!
Cheers,
Rosa
5. Medena | September 10th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Hi Farida! These cookies look amazing! Interesting how they settle when baked, and look like snowball halves! Great shot!
6. Lakshmi | September 10th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
lemon, cardamom and cheese..wonderful combination of flavors Farida..Cookies looks yumm
7. Deeba | September 10th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Love the cookies & love the cardamom twist to them Farida. Funnily enough, I too posted a cardamom something last night…Saffron Kulfi…xoxox
8. Aparna | September 10th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Great cookies, Farida. Just my kind as I love cardamom, my favourite too.
I also prefer chocolate glazes over the sugar kind. Actually I love chocolate anyhting!:)
I have another version of lemon cookies up on my blog.
Nice to have you back posting now.
9. chriesi | September 11th, 2008 at 12:45 am
These are lovely!
10. clumbsycookie | September 11th, 2008 at 1:47 am
They do look like nice and soft cookies. I love your cardamom twist! Cardamom makes enverything better in my opinion!
11. Susan from Food Blogga | September 11th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I love baked goods with ricotta since it provides such creaminess and subtle flavor. These are so lovely.
12. Hélène | September 11th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I’m drooling, can you send me a dozen? They looks so sweet & good.
13. Marc @ NoRecipes | September 11th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Wow these look great. I bet they’re a little healthier than cookes made of all butter too.
14. Kitchen Goddess | September 12th, 2008 at 1:37 am
These sound so good. I often make lemon & cardamom or lemon & cumin cookies but had never thought of adding ricotta … I’ll give it a go.
15. Liliana | September 12th, 2008 at 5:21 am
This is my kind of cookie. They look delicous!
16. alexandra's kitchen | September 12th, 2008 at 9:22 am
i love lemon-ricotta anything. especially pancakes. these cookies are so elegant!
17. Matin | September 12th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hi Farida
Cookies look great, I have a box of ricotta in the fridge at the moment which im not sure what to do with it, so I’ll try these cookies, hopefully mine looks and taste as good as yours:-)
Love
Matin
18. Chuck | September 12th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Farida, I could eat anything with lemon, it’s a weakness of mine. I’ll take lemon over chocolate any day and that’s saying a lot because I love chocolate too. I really have to give these cookies a try.
19. Marysol | September 12th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Fari, I hadn’t even looked at the picture when I started drooling over the main ingredients, but the picture reeled me in!
20. Jeena | September 12th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Wow these are so fantastic, I just adore all of these flavours and they look so pretty too.
21. Gloria | September 12th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Farida I love cardamom is one of my favorite specially with coffe, but with cookies so nice too. These are so nice and yummy!
Please Farida May you help me?, I post a recipe and Im not sure in english what is correct, I post ” Stuffed Crepes with prawns” but I have a doubt if I have to say “Crepes stuffed with prawns”" may you tell me what is correct, I asked you because you know spanish. I will return more late. Thanks!!
22. Tartelette | September 12th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
They are like grown up shortbread cookies! The kind I love and with lemon…hmmmm. If it is any consolation, I don’t really like cheesecakes with ricotta either, they turn out a little gritty for me.
23. Marija | September 13th, 2008 at 3:43 am
They are beautiful Farida! What do you think would be good substitute for cardamom? I can’t find it here.
24. Srivalli | September 13th, 2008 at 5:06 am
oh..those cookies are looking so wonderful!..
25. Mrs Ergül | September 13th, 2008 at 8:14 am
cok guzel abla! Yum yum!
26. Jonathan | September 13th, 2008 at 8:30 am
ok, farida… you sold me w/ the cardamom! LOVE the idea of adding that. And these look easy enough for even a cruddy baker like me to make!
27. Lala | September 13th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Hallo Farid,
Ummm…Usually you had step by step picture gallery. Why not here?
I’m gonna try and try this at home
thank you!
28. Lala | September 13th, 2008 at 11:40 am
sorry, Farida
29. Cheryl | September 13th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Wow, you’ve combined 3 of my favorite flavors in a single cookie. I bet this flavor combo would make a super pancake, too…
30. pixen | September 14th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
oh my what a lovey idea with cardamom and another usage of ricotta cheese! Thanks Farida!
31. Sam Sotiropoulos | September 14th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Farida, these look and sound scrumptious! Cardamon and lemon is a nice complement to be sure, and the light dusting with the powdered sugar is more to my tastes than glazing (unless it’s chocolate of course!).
32. Gloria | September 15th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Dear Farida, many,many thanks you are really my Angel dear, when I have a doubt I will say help” again, hugss!!! Gloria
33. farida | September 15th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
MIMI: Thank you. Do try these. They are so delicious!
Grace: Thank you. I will give the credit to Giada de Laurentiis for the originality of the recipe. I just added cardamom and powdered sugar.
Ivy: Thank you!
Rosa: I love these too.
Medena: They are so soft inside. They are like mini sponge cake cookes:)
Lakshmi: Glad you like it.
Deeba: Just checked out your Kulfi. Sounds and looks yummy! I have to give it a try one day.
Aparna: Thank you! To me, sugary glazes are too much. Viva chocolate!
Chriesi: Thank you!
Clumbsycookie: They are very soft indeed. Try and see:)
Susan from Food Blogga: Thank you. I agree. Ricotta cheese works wonders in baked goodies. I also like mascarpone cheese. Hmm, maybe I should try making these with mascarpone one day.
Helene: I wish I could send a batch over to you. Alas, there is distance between us:)
Marc @ NoRecipes: There is butter in this one too, but you don’t even know when you eat them. They are so non-buttery in taste:)
Kitchen Goddess: Give it a try, George. They are soooo good!
Liliana: I wish I could send you some. Thank you!
Alexandra’s kitchen: I have never thought of pancakes with ricotta. Great idea! Thank you!
Matin: Please let me know how your cookies turn. Nushe-jan!
Chuck: Chuck, I am sure you will handle making these without any problem with your baking talent.
Marysol: Amiga, glad you like it!
Gloria: Mi respuesta en tu correo electrónico.
Tartelette: Glad you like it. Your consolation worked great too:)
Marija: Thank you! I think just skip cardamom. Can’t think of any substitute for it. Its flavor is distinct. The original recipe didn’t have it, so you are safe?
Srivalli: Glad you like them!
Mrs Ergul: Tesekkur ederim! Afiyet olsun?
Jonathan: I am sure you will do just fine baking these.
Lala: I have one step shown though – unbaked cookies on a baking sheet. Next time there will be more. I know you are kidding. Or, wait, are you not?:))
Cheryl: I should try making a pancake with this combo. Sounds good.
Pixen: Glad you like it. The credit goes to Giada. I’ll take the cardamom part though:)
Sam: Thank you! Powdered sugar looked so nice on these cookies. I am now thinking about glazing them with chocolate next time:)
Gloria: You are very welcome. Glad I can be of any help. No, no, I am not an angel, I just happen to live in the CIty of Angels:)
34. farida | September 15th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Jeena: Just recovered your comment form SPAM! How weird. Sometimes innocent comments end up where they should not:)
Glad you like the cookies!
35. RecipeGirl | September 15th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
These look terrific. I do love cardamom but I was a little frightened by the flavor of it recently when I tried a cookie recipe that had 3 teaspoons of cardamom in it (really!!!) I’m happy to see that yours only has 1/3 tsp!
36. Vij | September 16th, 2008 at 1:01 am
this is my first time here…you have a lovely space….
These look absolutely stunning….. fantastic pics!
I am pretty new to this blogsphere…jus popped in to say a big hi!
37. Elle | September 16th, 2008 at 10:21 am
What a lovely cookie! And I’m sold on cardamom–I love it! They look so soft and pillowy.
38. bee | September 16th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
beautiful cookies!!! they look melt-in-the-mouth.
39. diva@theSugarBar | September 17th, 2008 at 6:43 am
what fab sounding cookies! bless you that you managed to save tht pot of ricotta before it died. jsut last week i threw out a very old and stinky pot of dying ricotta. it was a very sad day.
40. Rosie | September 17th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Just beautiful cookies and I just love anything with lemon in it !! They look like fluffy clouds in your last pic! A mouth-watering creation!
Rosie x
41. yasmeen | September 18th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
hi farida,
i just love the unique flavor of cardamoms. These melt in the mouth cookies look soo yummy. I got some riccotta cheese sitting in my fridge..guess i could try these tasty treats
42. farida | September 19th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Recipe Girl: You are safe with this amount here:)
Vij: Welcome to my world! Glad you like it here. Enjoy!
Elle: Thank you!
Bee: They are very soft indeed.
Rosie: Thank you. Glad you like it.
Yasmeen: Let me know if you make these. I am curious how your turn out:) Enjoy!
43. Nafisa | September 20th, 2008 at 5:18 am
Hey there, came across your blog from Simply Recipes. Just popping in to say hi.
44. swati | September 20th, 2008 at 9:37 am
perfect looking cookies and a great blend of flavors… this is my first time here and its a pleasure… chatkhor is nothing in front of you guys yaa…
45. Susan | September 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 am
How delicate and fragrant they must be. Lovely with an herbal tea.
46. farida | September 22nd, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Nafisa: Welcome to my blog! Enjoy!
Swati: Welcome and thanks a lot for your nice words. I just checked out chatkhor and it is pretty good, so don’t fee bad:))
Susan: They are really good with a cup of hot tea.
47. Lubna karim | October 6th, 2008 at 3:30 am
Wow i simply love them. Looks gr8 and sounds divine.
48. aisha | October 31st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Hi, I made these today, with the cardamom and glaze. Like you I had a tub of forlorn ricotta begging to be used. I’m so glad I did… the cookies are delicious… like tea cakes!
49. Farida’s Azerbaijan&hellip | September 30th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
[...] been following my blog for some time, you know that I suffer from an untreatable case of cardamom addition. So sure enough, I was soon heading over to the kitchen to make these rolls. They turned [...]
50. Kamila | February 17th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Hi Farida! These cookies look delicious… I am currently looking for a perfect cookie recipe for my daughter’s “100 days of school” party next week. And I need a recipe that would win hearts and taste buds of a bunch of 6 year olds
Tell me, are these cookies chewy or crumbly? Is the cardamom taste just a hint or strong?
Will definitely make it soon
Thanks you sooo sooo very much
PS - your kesmik recipe is fantastic too. My mom used this exact recipe for us when we were little kids, but called it “tvorojok” instead of “tvorog”
51. julie | February 18th, 2011 at 8:24 am
I was so glad to find this site. I made the cookies yesterday and they were wonderful. I loved the complements from my friends. I got 40 good sized cookies from the recipe. I liked the powdered sugar topping. They looked beautiful on the serving plate.
52. Farida | February 18th, 2011 at 10:07 am
KAMILA These cookies are soft, sort of like “biskvitniy” texture. The cardamom is not very strong here. You can omit if if you are not sure. Good luck:)
JULIE - Glad you liked it.Enjoy!
53. Jamila | July 25th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Tried them, they’re great. Cardamom adds a great flavor. Everybody loved these!
54. Ka? | February 23rd, 2013 at 4:59 pm
I made them
one the best cookies I’ve ever made! totally different from traditional cookies but still so delicious
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