Lemon Cookies
Spring has sprung in Southern California! I have decided that I need to make some Italian cookies for Easter and that I need to start testing recipes. mmmmm.
Today the two test batches will be from Giada de Laurentis' "Lemon Ricotta Cookies with a Lemon Glaze", and Gina De Palma's "Lemony Semolina Cookies" from her book Dolce Italiano: Desserts From the Babbo Kitchen.
Giada First:
Here is what they are *supposed to look like when I'm through. I plan on adding colored sprinkles because. . . sprinkles.
(Image taken from the Food Network website. Link above.)
I'm not usually a fan of Giada's recipes, but this recipe is lemony, simple, and straightforward--you really have to love the simplicity of drop cookies! The ricotta (which is used often in Italian cooking for both sweet and savory dishes) gives the dough a lovely creaminess, but it's so mild and pairs so well with the lemon, that you can't tell there is an entire tub of cheese in there. I also really like making the frosting with lemon juice and powdered sugar, instead of water or milk; it gives the frosting an extra lemony kick that cuts through the sweet.
Note: she says to use 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. I used 1. After I realized my mistake and the first few had their bottoms' burnt, I cut the baking time down to 10 min.
Verdict: even my husband, who mysteriously hates ricotta, deems these "awesome."
For the second recipe I am flying blind: the cookbook has no accompanying photos. :( This is a sad fault in a cookbook, but I'm so intrigued by the recipes that I forgive it. A quick search on the internet tells me they *should look something like this:
Image taken from the Sydney Herald
This recipe calls for some very Italian ingredients that one usually doesn't use otherwise in baking (olive oil, limoncello, semolina) and I'm dying to see how it will come out. There is a little hitch in the giddy-up though: I have no semolina. I couldn't find it at the market and couldn't be bothered to try another shop, so I'm substituting grits instead. Fingers are crossed and saying mental apology to Nona.
These I'm supposed to roll in white sugar before baking. I've run out of white sugar, so brown sugar it is!
For the second tray, I decided to finely chop (via the food processor) some walnuts and add them to the sugar-coating.
These did *not "collapse and [become] crinkled and pale golden brown" as described. While waiting for that to happen (and partly because of the sugar coating) some of them bottoms became a bit burned. The over-baked set is on the left, the properly baked with added walnuts on the right.
They are quite tasty--and about half as sweet as Giada's recipe. The fact that they aren't overly sweet is probably more authentically Italian. Texturally, they are grainier than the fluffy ricotta cookies but, if not burned, semi-soft & very tasty. They would be amazing dunked in a cappuccino.
Today the two test batches will be from Giada de Laurentis' "Lemon Ricotta Cookies with a Lemon Glaze", and Gina De Palma's "Lemony Semolina Cookies" from her book Dolce Italiano: Desserts From the Babbo Kitchen.
Giada First:
Here is what they are *supposed to look like when I'm through. I plan on adding colored sprinkles because. . . sprinkles.
(Image taken from the Food Network website. Link above.)I'm not usually a fan of Giada's recipes, but this recipe is lemony, simple, and straightforward--you really have to love the simplicity of drop cookies! The ricotta (which is used often in Italian cooking for both sweet and savory dishes) gives the dough a lovely creaminess, but it's so mild and pairs so well with the lemon, that you can't tell there is an entire tub of cheese in there. I also really like making the frosting with lemon juice and powdered sugar, instead of water or milk; it gives the frosting an extra lemony kick that cuts through the sweet.
Note: she says to use 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. I used 1. After I realized my mistake and the first few had their bottoms' burnt, I cut the baking time down to 10 min.
Verdict: even my husband, who mysteriously hates ricotta, deems these "awesome."
For the second recipe I am flying blind: the cookbook has no accompanying photos. :( This is a sad fault in a cookbook, but I'm so intrigued by the recipes that I forgive it. A quick search on the internet tells me they *should look something like this:
Image taken from the Sydney HeraldThis recipe calls for some very Italian ingredients that one usually doesn't use otherwise in baking (olive oil, limoncello, semolina) and I'm dying to see how it will come out. There is a little hitch in the giddy-up though: I have no semolina. I couldn't find it at the market and couldn't be bothered to try another shop, so I'm substituting grits instead. Fingers are crossed and saying mental apology to Nona.
These I'm supposed to roll in white sugar before baking. I've run out of white sugar, so brown sugar it is!
For the second tray, I decided to finely chop (via the food processor) some walnuts and add them to the sugar-coating.
These did *not "collapse and [become] crinkled and pale golden brown" as described. While waiting for that to happen (and partly because of the sugar coating) some of them bottoms became a bit burned. The over-baked set is on the left, the properly baked with added walnuts on the right.
They are quite tasty--and about half as sweet as Giada's recipe. The fact that they aren't overly sweet is probably more authentically Italian. Texturally, they are grainier than the fluffy ricotta cookies but, if not burned, semi-soft & very tasty. They would be amazing dunked in a cappuccino.
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