CHA’s Coconut Lime Ricotta Cookies
Last week, Marybeth and Lisa hosted our neighborhood’s annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. Just a small gathering of about 75 women vying for the enviable title of “Cookie Queen” with a serious competitive edge that keeps the holidays interesting. Each year the bar rises with platters of show-stopping, jaw-dropping, drool-worthy cookies.
The title of “Most Creative” went to a River Falls dolphin and stamp combination of glazed (frosted? you know that I am no baker) sugar cookies that pulled at the heart-strings of our college-aged panel of judges.
“Best Presentation” went to professionally decorated snow globe sugar cookies that were artfully displayed on a platter surrounding an actual winter scene snow globe.
You get the picture, right? This is serious competition.
But the “Best Tasting” cookie was in my humble opinion, the real show-stopper because when all is said and done, cookies are for eating, right? Okay, those might be fighting words, let me reframe…IMHO, it makes the most sense to share with you the cookie that won for “best tasting” because a/this is a recipe blog and b/as I am posting days before Christmas, those of you who bake elaborate Christmas cookies most likely have already kicked a$$ with your own creations.
So without further ado, I give you CHA’s Coconut Lime Ricotta Cookies which happen to be a take on Italian Christmas Cookies. Full disclosure, CHA (my annual cookie baking partner, aka, my friend Christine) called me the day before the exchange and asked, “What do you think of these cookies–they have coconut, lime and ricotta cheese?” Frankly, I thought that she was making them up and so my uncensored, honest response was, “I think they sound disgusting.” We’ve been friends for almost 18 years, it’s okay. She called me back later that day to say that she and her daughter baked a practice run and that she thinks they are pretty good. My response, “I don’t know. They sound pretty gross. Are you sure that you want to include ricotta AND lime AND coconut? Maybe just two out of the three?” Well goes to show what I know about sweets because these cookies were absolutely delicious. They are sweet and tart with a soft, moist texture. They would be equally as good with your morning coffee, afternoon tea or late night snack. Heck, Santa would love them! So go ahead and make a batch of these Coconut Lime Ricotta Cookies and enjoy your holiday. See you in 2020 (there’s got to be a vision joke in there)!
Coconut Lime Ricotta Cookies
Ingredients
- 2.5 c all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c butter softened
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 7.5 oz ricotta cheese ,whole fat or low fat or 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup
- 3 Tbls coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1 tsp lime zest
- Coconut Lime Glaze recipe follows
- 1 c toasted coconut optional garnish
Coconut Lime Glaze
- 1.5 Tbls coconut milk
- 1.5 Tbls fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 1.5 c powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in egg.
- Mix in Ricotta cheese, coconut milk, vanilla extract, coconut extract and lime zest. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Form dough into 2 Tbsp balls each and and drop onto Silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
- Bake 15 – 16 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- Cool 30 minutes then spoon a heaping 1/2 teaspoon glaze over each cookie, use the back of the teaspoon to spread glaze over cookie.Before glaze begins to harden and set sprinkle with toasted coconut (garnish lightly with additional lime zest if desired). For a set glaze allow cookies to rest for about 1 1/2 – 2 hours, or for a sticky glaze enjoy immediately. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Coconut Lime Glaze
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until well combine.