Italian Ricotta Cheese Cookies with Candied Lemon Wheels

INGREDIENTS: 

 2 cups organic sugar OR white sugar

 1 cup organic (salted) butter, softened

 15 ounces ricotta cheese (no gelatin)

 2 teaspoons (organic) Penzey’s double-strength Vanilla extract

 1/4c organic buttermilk OR 2 free-range eggs

 4 cups organic all-purpose flour (sift well before measuring accurately)

 2 tablespoons baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt (rather than 1 teaspoon since the butter was salted)

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, with the mixer a low speed, beat the sugar and butter until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Reduce speed to medium and beat in the ricotta, vanilla and eggs. 

3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat until dough forms. 

4. Drop dough by level tablespoons, about 2 inches apart; onto the prepared baking sheets. (I made extra-large cookies, more like 2 tablespoons per cookie, because they needed to be large enough for the candied lemon slices I was planning on using.) 

5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 15-18 minutes or until cookies are very lightly golden Cookies will be soft & cake-like.

 NOTE: I switched the cookie trays halfway through the baking and rotated them, front to back. It still took several minutes longer to bake than the time suggested. 

6. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes. With spatula, remove cookies to wire rack to cool. 

7. When cookies are cool, prepare icing.

VANILLA GLAZE (Used a favorite family recipe, rather than the one Linda suggested.)

 2 cups sifted organic confectioners’ sugar

 (measure carefully without packing)

 2 Tablespoons organic, salted Butter, melted

 1/2 teaspoon pure organic Vanilla

 3 tablespoons organic whole milk 

Or, try this:

 LEMON GLAZE (One of many options)

 2 cups sifted, organic confectioners’ sugar

 (measure carefully without packing)

 2 Tablespoons organic salted Butter, melted

 2 teaspoons of grated Meyer lemon zest

 Juice of 1 lemon

Combine melted butter, milk OR juice, flavorings (ie. vanilla, almond extracts ~ or zest ~ or cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. or liquors) in a bowl large enough to carefully mix in the confectioners sugar with a large spoon until smooth. With small spatula or the back of a large spoon, spread icing on cookies or drizzle over the cookies artistically. (I had trouble ‘drizzling artistically.’ Had a great idea, but need MUCH more practice!) 

OPTIONAL: Embellish the top of each cookie with confectionery decor of your choice: candied fruits, colored sugar or candy sprinkles, silver dragees, slivered almonds or walnut halves, etc.

Servings: 36 (72 medium or 50 larger cookies) 

MY COMMENTS: 

This is a super EASY, super YUMMY, delightfully VERSATILE cookie recipe. Has the classic butter-sugar-vanilla flavor of sugar cookies complemented with a subtle cheesecake flavor from the ricotta. The cookies are thick, tender & cake-like with a delicate soft chewiness. 

The flavorings could be taken in many different directions by adding some cinnamon or nutmeg or cardamom; lemon or orange zest; dried blueberries, currents or cranberries; using a Maple Syrup or Orange glaze…whatever your favorite choices may be.

Candied Lemon Slices 

Candying citrus rinds – and even whole slices – is time consuming, but very easy to do. I’ve been working on my lemon & orange projects for the past three days in reasonable stints of an hour or two, here and there…including the photography for this article. 

Started with a basic recipe – Candied Citrus Peel – from one of my favorite cookbooks: “Art of Preserving” by Australian author, Jan Berry  (Ten Speed Press, Berkeley CA). 

The ingredients:

 ANY organically grown citrus fruit may be used – blood or navel oranges, pink grapefruit, kumquats, lemons, limes, mandarins, pumelos, tangerines. Jan suggests 2 large, so for smaller fruits use a few more. 

~ I used 4 organic Meyer Lemons from our own trees.

 ~ Water (filtered)

 ~ 2 cups (1 pound / 500 g) organic granulated sugar, which has a very pale blond color. You may use white sugar if you prefer.

 ~ An extra 1 cup (8 ounces / 250g) of the sugar

After selecting citrus with perfect rinds and washing them clean, slice the stem end & bottoms of the fruits off. 

For candied whole slices, carefully cut 1/8 inch (1 cm) to 1/4 inch (2 cm) thick rounds of fruit. The thinner rounds work for tender skinned fruits like Meyer lemons (kumquats, limes & mandarins). The tougher, thicker rinds of grapefruit, oranges, pumelos, and tangerines need to be cut at the 1/4 inch (2 cm) width. 

If you’re only using the rinds and not planning on preserving whole slices, then score the citrus peels vertically in 3/4 inch (6 cm) sections, peel rinds from the fruit, trim off the extra white pith at the top & bottom of each slice before cutting into 1/8 inch (1 cm) or 1/4 inch (2 cm) wide strips. (see Candied Orange Rinds photo at the end of this post) 

Place prepared whole slices / peels in a wide enamel or stainless steel saucepan with 8 cups (2 liters) of water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Cook for 15 minutes or so until the rind is tender. Test by piercing one with a sharp knife tip, skewer, toothpick, cake tester…whatever you have handy. 

While the peel is cooking, set up a cooking rack next to the stove with paper towels under the rack (for the citrus slices) or on the rack for (citrus peels). Gently scoop the cooked citrus pieces out of the hot water with a slotted spoon and place on the rack to drain. 

Transfer 2 cups (500 mL) of the citrus cooking water to a smaller saucepan. Add 2 cups (500 g) of sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat. Add the drained citrus slices or peels. Stir to coat well. Let the sugar water & citrus sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.

* * * * * * 

 Returning to our candied citrus project:

 After 8 hours of steeping, place the saucepan over low heat and cook until the slices / peel have absorbed all the syrup, about 30 minutes. Adjust the heat, so the syrup doesn’t boil over. Watch carefully towards the end of the cooking time, so the slices / peel don’t burn. 

NOTE: I made an extra cup of syrup: 1 cup water+1 cup sugar as I didn’t think it would be enough for my lemon slices to cook in. So there was plenty of syrup left over after the half hour of cooking. 

Put some waxed paper or aluminum foil on the counter or cooling rack next to your stove top. 

Remove the peel / whole slices from the syrup with a slotted spoon or tongs letting the excess syrup drip back into the pan. Place gently on the wax paper / foil. Be careful, the peel will be hot and can burn your fingers. If you’ve preserved whole citrus slices, pick all the pits out of the cooked fruit rounds with the tip of a sharp paring knife, taking care not to damage the slices. Discard the pits. Then Let the candied slices / peels rest at room temperature for 12 hours. 

The next day, coat each piece in extra granulated sugar. Dry on a cake rack for 3 hours before packing the candied slices / peels between layers of waxed paper in a clear air tight container. 

Store in a cool, dry place for up to 2 months. Use in a special cooking project, give as gifts, or serve as a sophisticated elegant sweet treat.

Recipe Source (Italian Ricotta Cheese Cookies with Candied Lemon Wheels): http://www.figswithbri.com/?p=157 

Recipe Source (Candied Lemon Slices): http://www.figswithbri.com/?p=154