Try these irresistible ricotta chocolate chip cookies topped with tangy icing. You will not even need a mixer - just stir the dough with a spoon.
These ricotta chocolate chip cookies are soft, filled with chocolate chips, and have a sweet citrus glaze. Enjoy the creamy chocolate taste with a refreshing hint of orange in every bite—a wonderful treat for any time!
This easy chocolate chip ricotta cookie recipe for super tender biscuits will impress family and friends. Be sure to make plenty, as they're destined to become a favorite! They are also great for a cookie exchange during the holiday season!
Check out more recipes using ricotta: Whipped Ricotta, Gnudi - Italian Ricotta Dumplings and No-Bake Ricotta Cheesecake with Raspberries. Or make some Chocolate Chip and White Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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☀️What is ricotta?
Ricotta is a soft, creamy Italian cheese made from leftover whey in cheese production. It has a mild taste and grainy texture and is widely used in sweet and savory dishes like lasagna, desserts, and more.
Ricotta is the secret ingredient that makes moist and soft cookies while adding a mild, creamy taste. Its texture helps bind ingredients and gives cookies a nice, cake-like consistency.
📋Recipe ingredients
- Ricotta: Whole milk ricotta cheese. If there is too much liquid in the tub, drain it.
- Sugar: You will need granulated white sugar for the cookie dough and icing sugar/ confectioners sugar for the glaze.
- Orange: It is preferable to use a small and unwaxed orange as you will need a bit of its zest to make the ricotta chocolate chip cookies.
- You will need a few tablespoons of freshly squeezed juice for the dough and a few more tablespoons (as required) for the cookie glaze.
- Chocolate chips: Dark chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips, whichever you like best.
- Alternatively, you can chop a bar of chocolate yourself.
- Chocolate sprinkles or shavings for decorating the glazed cookies.
- Other dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder, fine sea salt, or kosher salt.
- Wet ingredients: Two large eggs and vanilla extract.
👩🏻🍳How to make chocolate chip ricotta cookies?
Using a spoon, combine ricotta, sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest, and juice in a large bowl.
Add the eggs and mix well, scraping the bowl’s walls when necessary.
Combine and sieve flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt over the mixture. Fold in.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Shape 20 cookies and place them on the lined baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
Make the glaze by stirring icing sugar with orange juice.
Glaze the tender cookies and sprinkle them with chocolate.
🍊Variations
- Lemon ricotta cookies: Use lemon juice and zest instead of orange.
- Different chocolate chips: Try different types of chocolate chips or chunks—white chocolate, dark chocolate, or even butterscotch for varied tastes.
- Spices: Add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg to infuse warm, aromatic flavors into the cookies and to make them perfect for Christmas.
- Another topping: You can leave the cookies unglazed and sprinkle them with icing sugar. Or you can cover them with chocolate glaze or ganache.
🔊Expert Tips
Proper measurements: Use a digital kitchen scale for accurate measurements of ingredients, especially flour. Too much flour can make the cookies dry and crumbly.
Drain excess moisture: Regular ricotta should not be overly wet and usually doesn’t need draining. However, if it is too wet, place it in a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to drain excess moisture. This helps in achieving the desired consistency in the cookie dough.
Avoid overmixing: Mix the dough until just combined after adding the flour. Overmixing can result in tough cookies due to excess gluten development.
Adjust baking time: Keep an eye on the cookies while they bake. They should be lightly golden around the edges but still slightly soft in the center when you take them out. They'll continue to firm up as they cool.
❓Recipe FAQ
I don’t recommend using part-skim ricotta for this recipe; full-fat ricotta provides a richer texture and flavor to the cookies.
Yes. Form it into balls, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the cookie balls to a freezer bag or airtight container. When ready to bake, place the frozen ricotta cheese cookies on sheet pans and let them thaw slightly before baking.
To adjust the glaze consistency, add small amounts of powdered sugar to thicken it or a few drops of liquid (milk or juice) to thin it until you reach the desired texture.
Place the chocolate ricotta cookies in a single layer in an airtight container, with parchment paper between layers if stacking them. This prevents the glaze or ganache from sticking to each other.
Store them at room temperature in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. They should stay fresh for up to 3-4 days.
Refrigeration (if necessary): If the glaze or ganache contains perishable ingredients like cream, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freezing: Place the orange chocolate chip ricotta cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer until solid. Then, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper. You can freeze them for at least 2-3 months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.
🍪More cookie recipes
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Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Rubber spatula
- 2 Baking sheets
- 1 large, 1 medium, 1 small bowl
Ingredients
Ricotta cookies (Note 1):
- 1 cup ricotta 250 g / 9 oz
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 g / 3.5 oz
- 1 orange some zest and juice, Note 2
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 g / 9 oz
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chip or milk chocolate chips, 60 g / 2 oz
Glaze (Note 3):
- 2 cups icing sugar (confectioners sugar) 250 g / 9 oz
- 2-3 tablespoons orange juice as required; from the orange you juiced before
- 2-3 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles or shavings or shavings or mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Wet ingredients: Mix ricotta, sugar, vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of orange zest, and 2 tablespoons of orange juice in a large bowl using a spoon. Add the eggs and mix well, scraping the bowl’s walls a couple of times in between.
- Dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. Sieve the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold it gently until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips as well.
- Shape 20 cookies with lightly oiled hands. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, ensuring there is enough space between them as they will spread a little.
- Bake them for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let them cool on the trays for about 20 minutes before glazing them.
Glaze:
- Mix the icing sugar with enough orange juice in a small bowl to form a thick glaze.
- Cover the cookies with the glaze and immediately add some chocolate sprinkles or shavings on top. Let the glaze set before serving.
Notes
- Measurements: I recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure the ingredients because the amount of flour in a cup can vary depending on how each person measures it.
- Orange: Preferably, an unwaxed orange, as you will need some of its zest. You can use lemon instead of orange.
- The glaze is optional. You can leave it and just sprinkle the cookies with icing sugar. Or you can drizzle the ricotta cookies with melted chocolate of any kind or with ganache.
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