Italian Ricotta Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 15 oz ricotta, whole milk or fresh, 1 3/4 cups
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp butter, salted or unsalted, melted
• 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 – 6 Tbsp milk

Directions

1. For the cookies, combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk for 20 seconds, then put that bowl aside. In a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest until the mixture looks light and airy, pausing now and then to scrape the bowl along the sides and across the bottom as you work.
2. Add the ricotta and vanilla extract and mix them in, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Turn the mixer to low and gradually pour in the flour mixture, mixing only until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or as long as 2 days. During the last 20 minutes of chilling, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Portion the cold dough into 1 Tbsp scoops and roll them into balls. If the dough is too tacky to handle, use two spoons to drop it instead. Arrange the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Skip dark non-stick pans here, since these cookies already brown nicely on the bottom and dark pans can push that too far.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 – 14 minutes, until the bottoms are golden. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for several minutes, then move them to a wire rack and let them cool all the way.
5. When the cookies are cool, dip the tops into the glaze and place them back on the wire rack. If you are adding sprinkles, scatter them on right away. Leave the cookies at room temperature until the glaze firms up, then store them airtight, arranged in just one layer.
6. For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, melted butter, lemon juice or almond extract, vanilla and 4 Tbsp milk in a bowl until smooth. If it needs loosening, add more milk 1 tsp at a time; aim for a glaze that is still fairly thick, not as thin as a doughnut glaze.