Ricotta Cheese Cookies

Italian desserts go head to head with French desserts and are in a league of their own. Only people with taste for fine authentic cuisine know that there is more to Italian food than just pizza, pastas and tiramisu.

The use of ricotta cheese is abundant in Italian food and these delicious ricotta cheese cookies are a proof to the rich cultural heritage of Italy.

Health benefits

Each cookie contains 180 calories. Although it is not healthy in the traditional sense, it’s a given that anything you eat in moderation is not bad for health. If you are watching your weight then take no more than 2 cookies at a time.

Ingredients

cups all-purpose flour: 4

cups sugar: 2

cup unsalted butter (softened): 1

ricotta cheese: 15 oz

tsp vanilla extract: 2

tsp salt: 1

tbsp baking powder: 2

cups confectioner’s sugar: 1 1/2

tbsp milk: 3

How To Make Ricotta Cheese Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.
2. Lien the baking tray with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter and beat them with a mixer until creamed. Keep beating for 5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
4. Add in the ricotta along with vanilla extract and eggs and beat at a slow speed.
5. Add in the flour, salt and baking powder into the cheese mixture. Keep on beating until a smooth dough consistency forms.
6. Drop spoonfuls of this dough on the baking tray with each spoonful of dough at least 2 inches apart. Fill the entire tray with the dough spoonfuls.
7. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes until they are lightly brown from the top.
8. Let them cool for 5 minutes and then dust some confectioner’s sugar on top generously. You can also use candy sprinkles to add a pop of color to the cookies.

Trivia

• Ricotta cheese is used a lot in Italian and French desserts as it is a very soft and slightly sweet tasting cheese.
• Cheese was made accidentally around 4000 years ago. Tradition has it that cheese milk was stored in a container made from animal stomach lining. The enzyme of the lining caused the milk to curdle and separate, thus forming the first ever cheese.
• Cookies date back as far as the 7^th century in Persia where they were first made.
• Muslim conquest in Spain brought over cookies and different recipes to Europe.