Meyer Lemon Ricotta Cookies

These cookies have become our family favorites, especially during the holidays. The combination of the silver dragées, the sweet Meyer lemon frosting and the very slight hint of ricotta is craveable. They're pretty easy to make and even more fun to eat, especially if you make the mini's (my favorite). The recipe below yields 4 dozen regular or 7-8 dozen mini's. Enjoy!

HELPS
1. You may need to add more flour if the dough is too wet. The best dough is still slightly wet but not so wet that it sticks to your finger when forming the cookies.
2. Dragées may be hard to find. These are those small edible silver balls that you used to be able to buy from any supermarket. Because they contain trace amounts of metal, I think many stores have stopped selling them, however most specialty cooking stores still sell them.
3. If you don't have Meyer lemons, it's ok to use the more commo Eureka lemons, found in most supermarkets. However, if you can find Meyer lemons, these are preferred as they are more aromatic and sweeter. For a very informative blogpost about Meyer lemons, click here.

INGREDIENTS
Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
15 oz whole-milk Ricotta cheese
½ teaspoon lemon extract
3 tablespoons freshly grated Meyer lemon zest
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Glaze
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3-4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
Silver Dragées

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment papers
2. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl; cream together until light and fluffy





















3. Add eggs, Ricotta, lemon extract, zest and juice; blend well





















4. Add 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt; blend to combine

















5. Add remaining flour in two parts, blending to combine between each, until a dough forms

















6. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon 2 inches apart (rounded teaspoon for mini’s) on baking sheets
































7. Bake until cookie edges are very light golden, about 12-15 minutes (10 for mini’s)
8. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for a few minutes and transfer to wire cooling rack

















9. While cookies cool, prepare glaze by creaming together butter and sugar





















10. Continue to mix, gradually adding juice until desired consistency

















11. Decorate cooled cookies, adding dragées before icing sets