Lemon Ricotta Cookies are super soft, cake-like cookies with additional moisture from shredded zucchini, a light lemony flavor, and a big burst of fresh blueberry!
Ricotta is a very versatile cheese. Its mild, slightly sweet flavor can be used in sweet and savory recipes. Whole Wheat Honey Ricotta Bread is a wonderful example of a delicious savory ricotta recipe; Lemon Ricotta Cake with Blueberries is a delicious, not overly sweet dessert with light flavor and texture; and if you're interested in making your own Homemade Ricotta Cheese, that can be done as well, and with wonderful success.
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- The ingredient list:
- Kitchen tools and equipment needed:
- How to store ricotta cookies
- Can the blueberries be omitted from these zucchini cookies?
- Can frozen blueberries be used for these cookies.
- Can these cookies be frozen after baking?
- How to remove excess water from shredded zucchini?
- What about the lemon buttercream drizzle? Can that be omitted?
- How to make lemon ricotta cookies with zucchini and blueberries:
- Additional sweet and/or savory zucchini recipes:
- Printable Recipe Card
- Please comment if you've made this recipe.
The ingredient list:
*Please note that the exact measurements along with a "shop the recipe" feature from Instacart and Walmart is available inside the printable recipe card.
- shredded zucchini
- butter
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- whole milk ricotta cheese
- pure vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- lemon zest
- kosher salt
- fresh blueberries
- confectioners sugar (for buttercream drizzle, or sugar dusting)
- butter (for buttercream drizzle)
- lemon juice (for buttercream drizzle)
Kitchen tools and equipment needed:
- mixing bowls
- box grater, rotary grater, or food processor (for grating the zucchini)
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- flour sack towels (for removing water from the zucchini)
- measuring cups and spoons
- whisk
- lemon zester
- citrus juicer (optional)
- spatula
- medium cookie scoop
- baking sheets
- parchment paper
- cooling racks
- kitchen timer
- sieve or sugar shaker (for powdered sugar dusting)
- disposable piping bags (for the buttercream drizzle) optional
How to store ricotta cookies
Store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Can the blueberries be omitted from these zucchini cookies?
Yep.
If you're not a fan, or maybe don't have them available, please feel free to omit them.
The texture of the cookie will not change too much if omitting the blueberries.
Can frozen blueberries be used for these cookies.
Yes and no.
Yes, but they need to be added when fully frozen, or the berries will discolor the cookies.
No, if the berries have been thawed or they will turn the cookies purple in color.
However, if you don't mind the color change, by all means, use the thawed berries and drain them well in a strainer, as they will add too much moisture to the cookie batter.
Can these cookies be frozen after baking?
Yes, but I'm guessing the texture of these zucchini ricotta cookies will be even softer once they're thawed than they were without freezing.
That said, I've not tried freezing them so I can't 100% guarantee the texture will change. I'm guessing.
How to remove excess water from shredded zucchini?
What about the lemon buttercream drizzle? Can that be omitted?
Sure thing!
I happened to be making a lemon buttercream icing for another sweet zucchini recipe; Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Zucchini, and I had some leftover icing that I decided to use it for these cookies to spruce the presentation up a bit.
While it's certainly not necessary to drizzle these cookies with lemon buttercream icing, it's certainly not a bad thing, either. LOL
Should you choose not to use the buttercream drizzle, but want to give your cookies a more finished appearance, once they're out of the oven (and totally cool) why not dust them liberally with confectioners sugar?
Yum and Yum!!
How to make lemon ricotta cookies with zucchini and blueberries:
- Preheat oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together 8 tablespoons of butter along with 1 cup of granulated sugar.
- Add 2 large eggs, and 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Blend until creamy.
- Add 1 cup ricotta cheese to the mixture and blend to combine.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour baking powder, and salt.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and blend.
- Add the remaining flour mixture to the batter and blend until combined.
- Add the lemon zest, shredded (dried) zucchini, and blueberries to the batter and stir gently with a spatula to combine.
- Use a medium cookie scoop or two tablespoons to drop the cookie batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between the cookies. I did 8 cookies per baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for a total of 22-24 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through the baking process.
- Remove to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting or dusting with confectioners sugar.
Additional sweet and/or savory zucchini recipes:
*Eggplant Zucchini Bread (shown below and featured in the video)
Yep, you read that right… Eggplant Zucchini Bread. It’s so moist and flavorful, AND it’s a great way to bump up the nutrition level of your next zucchini quick bread without anyone being the wiser.
*Zucchini and Sweet Corn Soufflé (not shown)
When you’re looking for an unusual vegetable dish that pales all others in comparison, then this Zucchini and Sweet Corn Soufflé is just the recipe you need.
*Italian Layered Zucchini Parmesan (shown below)
Layered Zucchini Parmesan has all the flavors you love about pizza or lasagna but without all those annoying carbs to weigh you down.
*Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Peanut Butter (not shown)
Three great tastes that go great together. These Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Peanut Butter are a delicious twist on a sweet zucchini muffin that I’ll bet you didn’t see coming!
*Zucchini Ricotta Cookies with Lemon and Blueberry (shown below) THIS IS THE PLACE!!
When you make today's recipe (and I hope that you will), I'd appreciate it if you'd take the time to come back and give it a star rating along with a comment on why you rated as you did. Search engines such as Google appreciate comments and ratings and, in turn, will show my recipes to more people. Please look for the pink star rating box within the printable recipe card. Thank you!!
Printable Recipe Card
Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Zucchini and Blueberries
Equipment
- stand mixer optional
- hand mixer optional
- kitchen scale optional
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened (I use salted butter)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1½ cups shredded zucchini, well dried
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest from approximately 2 large lemons
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups fresh blueberries
For the drizzle topping:
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 cup confectioners sugar plus additional (if needed) for desired consistency
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice plus additional (if needed) for desired consistency
Instructions
To make the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together 8 tablespoons of butter along with 1 cup of granulated sugar.
- Add 2 large eggs and 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Blend until creamy.
- Add 1 cup ricotta cheese to the mixture and blend to combine.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour baking powder, and salt.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and blend.
- Add the remaining flour mixture to the batter and blend until combined.
- Add the lemon zest, shredded (dried) zucchini, and blueberries to the batter and stir gently with a spatula to combine.
- Use a medium cookie scoop or two tablespoons to drop the cookie batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between the cookies. I did 8 cookies per baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for a total of 22-24 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through the baking process.
- Remove to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting, or dusting with confectioners sugar.
To make the lemon drizzle:
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and blend with a hand mixer until you reach your desired drizzle consistency.
- Add more liquid for a thinner drizzle, and add more confectioners sugar for a thicker drizzle.
- Drizzle over cookies by using a piping bag, or spoon a light drizzle over the cooled cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
I sincerely hope you've enjoyed today's sweet zucchini recipe for Zucchini Ricotta Cookies with Lemon and Blueberries as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
Should you have any questions or comments regarding anything you've seen on my site, please don't hesitate to reach out to contact me. It is always my distinct pleasure to get back with you just as soon as I possibly can!
Thank you so much for visiting me today in my Kudos Kitchen. I hope you found something you'll love and that you will come back and visit me often. Please know that there is always room for you around my kitchen table!
Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!
Mark says
These were very soft and moist. They taste delicious!
Renée says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Diana says
These cookies sound heavenly. I'm going to making some and sharing them at work this week.
Ashley says
These are so delicious! I love the combo of flavors.