lemon ricotta cookies with lemon glaze

two thoughts:

1. parchment paper rocks my kitchen world. it is seriously the best kitchen invention ever & I'm not sure how I survived 31 years without it. it almost deserves an entire blog post, and no, it's not the same thing as waxed paper.

2. ricotta cheese & the whole reason for this post... I always buy ricotta cheese & then forget about it until it goes bad... or I don't use it all up in time. it almost happened again, so I googled ricotta cheese recipes & found this little gem; thanks, giada.
I just pulled them out of the oven, so I haven't glazed them yet or let them cool, but so far, so delicious! I'll bring some to book club on friday... if there are any left...

(photo by my iphone)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese (I used "part skim")
  
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1 lemon, zested (I used dried orange peel)
  

Oven to 375º F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (giada says "about 2 tablespoons for each cookie," I say "1TB or less for each cookie & leave some space, these babies spread.") onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.