Marisa's Italian Kitchen

The Secret Ingredient Is Always Love

holiday

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

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Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies made with a quick lemon infused sugar and dipped in a lemon glaze for a delightful all around citrus scent. They’re all dressed up in gold nonpareils and ready to grace any holiday cookie platter with some merry cheer!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

While some people are dreaming of a white Christmas or even getting an early start to a flurry of holiday shopping, I’m living and breathing cookies in all shapes and forms. Shopping is pushed to the sidelines in anticipation of the glorious sweet treats begging to come to light.

What better way to ease into holiday baking then with these adorable Lemon Ricotta Cookies! They’re extremely popular in Italian households especially around the holidays with each family having their own unique way of decorating these citrusy morsels.

These cookies are extremely soft to the bite. They also have a very cake like texture which are sure to appeal to all you die hard cookie fans!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

They’re inspired by Canadian Living Magazine’s ricotta cookie from their latest holiday issue. I’ve made a few switch ups which will definitely appeal to all lemon lovers.

To achieve an all around citrus taste in the cookie dough, I added lemon zest and made a quick lemon sugar by pulsing together the lemon zest with the granulated sugar in my mini food processor. Alternately, if you don’t have a food processor simply beat the butter, sugar and zest all together.

I omitted the baking soda altogether and increased the baking powder from 1/4 teaspoon to a full teaspoon as this yielded a plumper cookie which did not spread out overly much. They resembled these perfect little round soft and fluffy pillows.

Also for uniformly round cookies I used a 1 1/2 inch round cookie scoop but you can just as easily measure the dough out with a rounded tablespoon.

I opted out of the cream cheese icing and decided to make a luscious lemon glaze.

“A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand” Barbara Johnson

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

You can also customize the thickness of the lemon glaze to your taste. Adding less lemon juice to the icing sugar will result in a thicker glaze. Or, if you prefer a thinner glaze try adding a little more lemon juice.

Do keep in mind though that these cookies absorb quite a bit of the glaze, especially a day after. So if you want that white glaze appearance make sure the icing is not overly thin.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies 

I had full intentions to test out whether these ricotta cookies would freeze well and therefor make a great bake ahead dessert. However, they lasted 1 full day in my freezer because greedy hands quickly devoured the cookies! They’re that delicious!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

But don’t take my word for it! Bake them yourselves and tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Ricotta Cookies
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Lemon Ricotta Cookies

These classic Italian Ricotta Cookies are extremely soft and cake-like in texture, are dipped in a lemon glaze and topped with golden non-pareils.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 3 dozen
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • COOKIES
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt I used fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • sprinkles or nonpareils for decorating
  • LEMON GLAZE
  • 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Line 3 cookies sheets with parchment paper as this will make for easy release of the cookies and set aside.
  3. Pulse the granulated sugar with the lemon zest in a food processor for about 1 minute so as to infuse the sugar with the lemon scent.
  4. Place the lemon sugar and the softened butter in a large bowl and beat until fluffy.
  5. Beat in the egg, ricotta cheese and the vanilla until well combined.
  6. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and stir this into the ricotta mixture.
  7. Using a small cookie scoop of about 1 1/2 inch in size, scoop out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart so that they have room to expand. Or simply measure out a heaping tablespoon if you don't have a cookie scoop.
  8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 to 14 minutes or until the bottoms are golden in color.
  9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and in the meantime prepare the lemon glaze.
  10. FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
  11. Place the icing sugar and lemon zest in a medium sized bowl and whisk in the lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time, until a desired consistency is achieved.
  12. Dunk the top of the ricotta cookies into the lemon glaze and place on a wire rack with a tray underneath to catch any drippings.
  13. Sprinkle with nonpareils of your choice and then allow the lemon glaze to set before serving.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by Canadian living Magazine and tweaked with a few switch ups for personal taste.

 

 

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

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Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies…these delicious morsels are a chocolate lover’s dream!

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

Are you ready to be engulfed with the lovely aromas of holiday baking? I love, love this time of the year and if you do as well then join me because in these coming weeks it’s all about the cookies in my kitchen. So put on some stretchy pants, preheat your ovens and lets start baking!

I am getting you started with these outrageous Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies.

They are by far the most soft and chewy cookies that I have ever baked and that’s saying a lot!

What makes these cookies particularly chewy and moist is the brown sugar and the cream cheese which not only enhances the moistness but also gives the cookies another depth of flavor.

Packed with both melted and dark raspberry chocolate pieces and topped with a drizzle of melted dark chocolate. These cookies will have everyone drooling.

 

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

A note about the chocolate

If you can’t come across raspberry chocolate in your area then you can absolutely use regular dark chocolate chips. Just make sure it’s 70% dark chocolate or higher. Dark chocolate contains smaller amounts of sugar and a higher percentage of cocoa. The higher percentage in cocoa, the higher also in dietary fiber. Which simply means you can have more cookies…that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it…lol!

As much as I love this raspberry chocolate, there are also other different flavored chocolates to experiment with. One other that I have tried and found quite delicious was pomegranate dark chocolate. Also intriguing is chipotle dark chocolate!

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

On another note, this cookie dough is a soft batch dough. To keep the cookies from spreading to much, I chilled the dough for 1 hour. I then used a cookie scoop of 1 1/4 inch size to transfer the dough onto my baking sheet, alternately you can also use a heaping tablespoon. There is no need to roll the cookies with your hands unless you want smooth round tops. I love the rippled appearance of these cookies.

Also, I baked the cookies at 350 degrees F. Using high heat would dry out these moist cookies.

Most noteworthy here, I under bake my cookies. Yes I do! I’ve learnt to do this when it comes to drop cookies.

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

When your cookies look firm around the edges but still moist in the center, pull them out of the oven. They will have a pretty hump when removed from the oven but leave them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 to 7 minutes so that they don’t fall apart. As they are cooling they will continue to cook for a minute and slowly deflate somewhat.

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

Once they are ready to safely transfer to a cooling rack, let them cool completely before drizzling them with the melted chocolate.

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

As a result of not over baking these glorious Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies you will be rewarded with the most soft, chewy and ever so fudgy tasting cookie!

And furthermore, have fun in your kitchen and don’t forget your stretchy pants…no seriously!

Ciao! Until the next cookie!!

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies
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Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies

Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies. These cookies are soft, chewy and have a brownie like interior. A chocolate lover's dream.
Course Cookie
Servings 4 dozen
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup 125 grams cream cheese, softened (in brick form)
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup chopped raspberry chocolate pieces melted (approximately 150 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup chopped small pieces chocolate raspberry to stir in the dough (approx. 150 grams)
  • 3/4 cup melted dark chocolate pieces for drizzling.

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, egg and both sugars until light and fluffy.
  4. Stir the 1 cup of melted chocolate raspberry and vanilla extract into the batter mixture.
  5. In a separate bowl combine together the flour, baking soda and salt.
  6. Stir the flour mixture into the batter until combined.
  7. Add in the chopped walnuts and the 1 cup of chopped chocolate raspberry pieces and stir to combine.
  8. Scoop out 1 heaping tablespoon measure onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. ( I used a 1&1/4 inch cookie scoop)
  9. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. (12 cookies per sheet and keep remaining dough chilled)
  10. Bake one cookie sheet at a time for about 8 to 10 minutes. Cookies will be firm around the edges and with very soft centers.
  11. Let cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
  12. Once cooled, drizzle the cookies with melted dark chocolate.

Recipe Notes

If you don't have 4 cookie sheets, no problem. You can alternate with 2 cookie sheets but remember to let the baking sheets cool complete before proceeding with the next batch.

 

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade

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Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade with butternut squash, kale and spicy Italian sausage makes a crowd-pleasing elegant meal for Thanksgiving or any special occasion.

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade

I have a confession to make! I’ve never cooked a whole turkey and I really don’t know why, except maybe to say that I find it a little bit intimidating to cook a whole bird. I know…crazy right!

Mostly though, my family prefers white meat and if you do as well then you’ll appreciate how easy it actually is to make a turkey roulade such as this one.

Aside from being far easier to prepare, it’s also much healthier and made even more so by omitting the skin. But, I’ll have you know that there is no skimping on flavor here. This delicious turkey roulade is packed full of nutrient dense vegetables such as kale and butternut squash and livened up with some spicy Italian sausage.

For some aromatic allure I’ve added fragrant rosemary and sage to both the stuffing and the organic chicken broth.

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade

My intent was to make this recipe more of a step by step tutorial for beginners. However, daylight savings time had other plans for me. I was quickly losing some valuable natural lighting here. But at least I get to show you how a butterflied turkey breast looks like.

Purchasing a deboned, skinless and butterflied turkey breast really simplifies the whole process. All I did was lay it out between two sheets of saran wrap and pounded the meat with a meat mallet to about 1/2 inch thickness. I then spread the stuffing onto the turkey breast to about 1 inch from the borders. Rolled it up…tied it up…and voila!

Here you have a succulent rolled up Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade!

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade

The key to having a moist and tender meat is to baste the turkey every 15 minutes with the chicken broth.

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade

You will be rewarded with a delicious, mouthwatering meal and will make you wish that you had doubled the recipe!

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade

Buon Appetito!

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade
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Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade

Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade with butternut squash, kale and spicy Italian sausage makes an elegant meal just perfect for any special occasion.
Course supper
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup diced onion
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 cup diced butternut squash
  • 2 cups chopped kale
  • 1 teaspoon fresh sage chopped (plus a few whole sprigs for pan)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme plus a few whole sprigs for pan
  • salt and pepper to your taste
  • 8 ounces spicy Italian sausage casing removed (about 1 cup measure)
  • 1 2 1/2 pounds skinless turkey breast, bones removed and butterflied
  • 2 cups sodium reduced, organic chicken broth

Instructions

  1. LETS MAKE THE STUFFING
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions for a few minutes till the onions are soft.
  3. Add in the garlic, butternut quash, kale, the fresh sage, thyme and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Stir the vegetable mixture and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes or till the butternut squash is soft and the kale has wilted.
  5. Set aside while you prepare the turkey breast.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  7. Place the butterflied turkey breast between 2 sheets of saran wrap and pound the meat with a meat mallet to about a half inch thickness.
  8. Add the sausage to the vegetable mixture and stir very well until evenly combined, then spread this over the turkey breast to about one inch off the border.
  9. Starting at the shorter end, roll the turkey breast tightly together and tie with 4 equal pieces of butcher's twine at one inch intervals and one longer piece along the length of the stuffed turkey.
  10. Sprinkle the turkey breast lightly with salt and pepper.
  11. Place the stuffed turkey in a shallow oven proof pan (I used the same skillet in which I cooked the vegetables.)
  12. Pour in 3/4 cup of chicken broth into the pan with a few springs of fresh sage and thyme.
  13. Cook the turkey breast for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until an instant-read digital thermometer reaches 155 degrees F.
  14. Baste the stuffed turkey every 15 minutes with the remaining chicken broth so that the meat does not dry out and retains moisture.
  15. When ready, transfer the stuffed turkey breast onto a cutting board and slice into 3/4 inch slices.
  16. (mine yielded 12 slices)
  17. Place the slices onto a serving platter.
  18. Strain the pan juices through a fine sieve and pour the juices over the sliced turkey breast.
  19. Serve while still warm.

 

 

 

Sandwich Cookie Pops

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sandwich-cookie-pops

This past week turned out to be pretty challenging for me. It has been quite hectic in my kitchen trying to finish dozens of chocolate cake pops and these yummy sandwich cookie pops…all for a good cause!

A few colleagues and I organize an annual bake sale to raise money for National Denim Day, a Canadian wide event which raises money for Breast Cancer Awareness. This year was exceptionally exciting because we had many co-workers who generously donated their time and talent to make this year’s fundraising a success.

Aside from making the much requested cake pops, I did want to switch things up a little and make something different…something fanciful and playful. It had to be a special treat and exciting enough to entice one to donate, however big or small the donation might be. These sandwich cookie pops were certainly it!

They are somewhat whimsical and sophisticated in appearance, appealing to both the young and older crowds.

This simple cookie dough is scented with vanilla and black raspberry liqueur. Once baked, the cookies are sandwiched together with a delicious buttercream, dipped in white chocolate candy melts and sprinkled with funfetti.

sandwich-cookie-pops

Now, a little about these sandwich cookie pops…yes, they are a little more work then a drop cookie, but only because there are a few more steps to follow.

Read the recipe through first and when your are ready to make them, pace yourself. Prepare the dough the day before, let it chill in the fridge then proceed with the recipe the following day. Bake them in the morning, fill them in the afternoon and dip them in the evening. Simple enough!

sandwich-cookie-pops

When working with candy melts I highly recommend you thin the chocolate with some vegetable oil as this will do 2 things for you. First, it will make the sandwich cookie pops easier to dip and secondly, it will render the chocolate melts less sweet.

sandwich-cookie-pops

The best part with these sandwich cookie pops, if one is an avid baker, they can be adapted to suit many different occasions or themed parties such as baby and bridal showers, as well as birthdays or holidays such as Mother’s Day!

And on that note…Buona Festa della Mamma to all amazing moms!

sandwich-cookie-pops
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Sandwich Cookie Pops

These sandwich cookie pops are vanilla sugar cookies with a raspberry buttercream filling dunked in white chocolate candy melts and sprinkled with funfetti.
Course Dessert
Servings 50 cookie pops
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • COOKIE DOUGH
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 3/4 granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon black raspberry liqueur or milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 50 lollipop sticks
  • 1 1/2 pounds candy melts flavor of your choice (I used Wilton candy melts)
  • Funfetti or any sprinkles of your choice optional
  • RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
  • 2 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
  • 1 tablespoon black raspberry liqueur or milk

Instructions

  1. Stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set this aside.
  2. In a larger bowl beat the softened butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the granulated sugar and beat until it turns creamy and smooth. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  4. Beat in the liqueur or milk if using, and the vanilla extract.
  5. Next, beat in the flour mixture until everything is combined.
  6. Once combined, cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
  7. Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into two equal portions. You may want to use a scale for this.
  8. Roll out each half into a 12 inch rope.
  9. Wrap up each roll in saran wrap and chill for about 4 to 24 hours.
  10. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  11. Line two cookie baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have four all the better.
  12. Slice the rolls into 1/8 inch pieces.
  13. Place 50 lollipop sticks about 1 and 1/2 inch apart on your prepared cookie sheets.
  14. Place a dough slice, centered on one end, of each lollipop stick.
  15. Bake for about 6 to 7 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown.
  16. Bake the rest of the cookie slices without the lollipop sticks.
  17. When ready, let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for one minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  18. Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream.
  19. RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
  20. In a medium sized bowl, beat 1/2 cup of softened butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds.
  21. Beat in 1 cup of the icing sugar, raspberry jam and the liquor (or milk).
  22. Gradually beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar.
  23. Spread about a teaspoon of the raspberry buttercream on the bottom part of each cookie with the stick.
  24. Top with the remaining cookies bottom side down, pressing down gently to sandwich together. Set aside while melting the chocolate.
  25. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir well and continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until smooth and completely melted.
  26. At this point the candy melts will need to be thinned in order to make them more fluid and not overly sweet.
  27. Stir in some vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon at a time making sure it is well incorporated. ( a good rule is 2 teaspoons per 12 oz of candy melts.) It should give a ribbon like pouring consistency.
  28. Pour the melted chocolate in a wide rimmed coffee mug. Stir again.
  29. Hold each cookie pop by the stick and carefully dip into the melted chocolate to coat all over and let excess chocolate drip off back into the mug. You can also tap the cookie stick against the rim of your mug to help it along, turning the stick over and over as you tap. This helps to achieve an even coating.
  30. Place on a waxed or parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with funfetti.
  31. Repeat with remaining cookie pops.
  32. Keep them flat on baking sheet till chocolate is set.

Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden Magazine

 

Vanilla Sugar

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Vanilla sugar

December is my absolute favorite time of the year. A time where after much planning ahead, I finally start the cookie baking madness. As friends and family and colleagues know me well, I live and breath cookies during this busy holiday season. My dining room table is littered with cookbooks, baking magazines and recipe clippings that I have acquired throughout the years and in the next few weeks I will be sharing with you some of my favorite holiday treats. So do join me because this month it’s all about the cookies and I’ll give you tips and tricks on how to get through the baking madness!

With a little bit of planning ahead you too can bake up some delicious baked goods to share with family and friends. Today we are starting off with a super easy, two ingredient recipe…Vanilla Sugar. Yes it’s that easy, like 5 minute easy and far superior to any store bought version. And in the coming days I will share with you a family favorite recipe using this fragrant sugar.

Vanilla sugar can be utilized in various ways, from sweetening coffee, tea, baked treats and yes even savory recipes. It can be poured into decorative glass jars or bottles and gifted to guests as a “sweet” way of saying thank-you (pun intended). 🙂

vanilla pod

With a sharp knife slice open the vanilla bean and use the back of the knife to scrape out the seeds.

vanilla sugar

Combine the sugar and vanilla seeds together in a bowl and stir until the seeds are well dispersed. You can also use 2 rubber spatulas to slowly rub together the sugar and vanilla seeds to release larger clumps.

Vanilla sugar

Transfer the vanilla sugar into an airtight container and bury the pod deeply into the sugar.

Over time the Vanilla Sugar becomes more and more fragrant, so go ahead and make it a couple of weeks in advance before you start your holiday baking.

Here’s a tip, when a recipe calls for vanilla seeds only, don’t discard the pod. Rather give it new life by adding it to your vanilla sugar canister, as this will help to maintain the flavor of your vanilla sugar and refreshes it at the same time. And continue filling with more granulated sugar as the quantity depletes.

gift tags

For those expecting savory dishes this month I hope you are not too disappointed because…well…have I mentioned that this month is all about the cookies!! I have friends requesting trays of cookies for their family gatherings and I gift a lot of my baked goods…so what is this girl to do but bake…like a lot of cookies. 🙂

vanilla-sugar
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Vanilla Sugar

Aromatic vanilla scented sugar
Course Dessert
Servings 2 cups
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • 1 Vanilla Bean
  • 2 cups granulated sugar

Instructions

  1. Slice the Vanilla Bean down the middle from end to end with a sharp knife. Using the back of the knife, scrape out the seeds.
  2. Combine the sugar with the vanilla seeds in a medium bowl and stir until the vanilla seeds are well dispersed.
  3. Transfer to an airtight container and bury the pods deeply in the vanilla sugar. It can be stored indefinitely.
  4. Use in your favorite coffee, tea or desserts.