COOKIES CONTAINER RECIPES

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375.
• beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time until encorporated, then add ricotta, lemon juice and zest until well blended.
• stir in dry ingredients.
• place parchment paper on cookie sheet and drop dough (I made heaping teaspoon sized ccokies, the original recipe called for 2 tablespoon sized but I think that is way to large) onto sheet. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
• let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes before spreading glaze on top.
• for glaze: combine lemon juice, zest, and powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon full onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden about two hours before storing in an airtight container.
• *** I ran out of glaze the first time I made these and it has a strong lemon flavor so use sparingly. The cooked cookies (before they're glazed) freeze well. If your ricotta cheese is very watery you may need to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour.

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar with spoon until well mixed. Stir in flour until moistened, using hands to mix if needed (dough will be crumbly). Knead 5 to 10 times or until dough is smooth.
• Divide dough in half; shape each half into a log, 5 inches long by 2 inches in diameter.
• Spread 2 tablespoons of the nonpareils or decorating sugar on plastic wrap; roll one log in nonpareils to cover. Repeat to cover remaining cookie log in nonpareils. Wrap dough logs tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap 1 of the dough logs; cut into 1/2-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheet, place slices 2 inches apart, reshaping if necessary.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Unwrap remaining dough log, and repeat slicing and baking. Cool completely, about 40 minutes.
• To make Powdered Sugar Icing Drizzle: In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of the milk until well blended. If too thick to drizzle, add additional milk, 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Drizzle over tops of cooled cookies. Sprinkle with nonpareils or decorating sugar. Let stand about 1 hour or until drizzle is set.