I love a challenge, especially when it comes to cooking. My proudest moments are

when I made porchetta style turkey breast or Tortellini

Mantovani with Pumpkin. My son-in-law asked me to replicate

a cookie that his late grandmother would make at Easter. After describing the

cookie, and conferring with his father for additional input, it gave me enough

information to begin my search. Luckily, I didn’t have to dig too deep as I was

familiar with the cookie he was after.

I opened a recipe box that I had from my late aunt. As a single woman, she baked

and  cooked infrequently, but her box

contains recipes for cookies, sauces and Italian specialty recipes. Among those

were Ricotta Cheese Cookies, which was the cookie my son-in-law was recalling

from his childhood..

For the recipe you’ll need butter, granulated sugar, eggs, ricotta cheese, vanilla,

salt, baking soda, all-purpose flour and baking powder. This recipe must be 60+

years old as it calls for either butter or margarine. I used unsalted butter,

but I leave that decision up to you. I also used whole milk ricotta cheese. The

cookies are also iced after baking and cooling. For the icing you’ll need

confectioner’s sugar, lemon extract and milk.

I recommend having your butter at room temperature as it has to be creamed with

the sugar. Once the ingredients are creamed, eggs are added one at a time. The

balance of the ingredients are added and mixed thoroughly.

The dough is dropped  by teaspoonful on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper. I prefer to use a cookie scoop for a uniform size. The cookies bake in a 350° oven for approximately 12 minutes  or until the bottoms are lightly

browned and the tops white. The cookies are cooled before icing.

For the icing, I mixed a cup of confectioner’s sugar, a teaspoon of lemon extract

and a little bit of milk until I had the desired consistency I wanted. I also

added lemon zest for an added punch of flavor. When icing, I recommend using an

offset spatula and gently spread the frosting over the cookie. You can decorate

with colored sanding sugar or nonpareils.

The cookies were delicious, very light and had just the right amount of lemon

flavor. I must say, using the milk gave the frosting a nicer viscosity than

water, which some recipes call for.

While my son-in-law’s grandmother made them for Easter, they are a nice cookie for a celebratory occasion or just to have with a cup of tea.

I’ll admit, I don’t always read through a recipe before cooking or baking and that

was the case when I thought I was making the ricotta cookies. Not only did I

have the recipe card for Ricotta Cheese Cookies pulled, but an additional

recipe for Italian Knot cookies. When I realized I hadn’t added the ricotta

cheese to the batter, that’s when I discovered I was making the wrong recipe.

I have written before about Italian Knot Cookies from my late friend Lucy. Her dough contained cream cheese. For my aunt’s Italian Knot Cookies, you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, butter, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla. I was surprised to read that there was no salt in this recipe, but I added a pinch. Again, the butter should be at room temperature. The butter and sugar are creamed together. The eggs and vanilla are incorporated into the mixture followed by the dry ingredients. It’s best to chill the dough for 30 minutes before forming the knots. Grab a small amount of dough, somewhere between 1/8 or 1/4 cup an roll into a log. Take one end of the rope and cross it over the other end, then pull the end through the loop you created. It’s like tying your shoe, but with no bows. The cookies bake in a

350° oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookie is golden. If you

don’t want to make the dough into knots, you can use a cookie scoop to form

your cookies, which is what I did.

Once the cookies are cooled, ice and decorate.

The cookies had a lovely flavor, albeit the crumb was a little denser and not as

moist as the Ricotta Cookies. Both were delicious on different levels, but my

husband prefers the other cookie. Also, instead of lemon extract, for this

frosting I tried using lemon zest and lemon juice, which gave the icing a

brighter flavor. 

Ricotta CheeseCookies

From the kitchen of Angelina Salvatoriello

Ingredients

Cookies

½ lb. (2 sticks) butter at room temperature

2 cups of granulated sugar

3 eggs at room temperature

1-pound whole or park skim milk ricotta cheese

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

Icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 to tablespoon milk, whole or 2%

Preparation

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.   Cream the butter with sugar until smooth.

3.   Add eggs, one at a time, mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl.

4.   Sift dry ingredients together. Mix dry ingredients into egg mixture alternating       with ricotta cheese, end with flour mixture.

5.   Mix thoroughly.

6.   Drop by teaspoonful on to lightly greased cookie sheet or on parchment lined       baking sheet.

7.   Bake for 12 minutes, bottoms should be brown, top white.

8.   Cool thoroughly before icing.

Icing

Add confectioner’s sugar and lemon extract to bowl. Add a

little bit of milk, slowly, to desired consistency. Frosting should be thick

like honey. You can use a teaspoon cookie scoop or teaspoon to drop a dollop of

icing on the cookie and use an small offset spatula to spread. Decorate with

colored sanding sugar, sprinkles or rainbow nonpareils. Do several cookies at a

time and decorate before icing dries.

Note: I Once cookies are frosted, let them sit on a cooling rack until the icing sets. Some icing recipes call for water, but I find the milk produces a nicer frosting.

Although I didn’t do it, some recipes call for chilling the dough for two hours or overnight.

Store covered on a plate at room temperature. You can freeze unfrosted cookies.

Italian Knot Cookies

From the Kitchen of Angelina Salvatoriello

Yield: 4 dozen

Ingredients

Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour            

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Lemon Frosting

1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons water*

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Preparation

Cream butter and sugar, beat well. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add dry

ingredients to thoroughly combine.

Grab a small amount of dough, somewhere between 1/8 or 1/4 cup an roll into a log. Take one end of the rope and cross it over the other end, then pull the end through the loop you created. It’s like tying your shoe, but with no bows.

Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookie is golden.

Cool cookies completely on rack before frosting. When frosting, keep cookies on rack set over a baking sheet to capture any frosting that may drizzle off. 

Donna's Note: If you don’t want to make the dough into knots, you can use a cookie

scoop to form your cookies, which is what I did.

*You can substitute milk for the water. However, start out with a little bit of milk

and drizzle in until you get the desired consistency you want. You can also

swap the lemon extract for fresh lemon juice and add some lemon zest.