Drankin & Bakin: Pineapple Beer & Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Generally I am not a fan of IPA beers. Too hoppy for my taste, I'm more of a porter or stout kind of woman.
That being said, I really like the Grapefruit Sculpin by Ballast Point, so I was excited today to find that they also make a Pineapple Sculpin. Sounds good to me! I find that the citrus helps balance out the hop content and makes for a really refreshing adult beverage. And for me, there is no such thing as too much citrus, so I decided to make lemon ricotta cookies to go with the yummy new beer discovery. I have tried a few different recipes for these cookies, but the best one is from Giada DeLaurentis.

Yummy! Bright and hoppy.

As always, having your mise en place makes for easier baking.

The addition of ricotta to these lemon cookies gives them a great texture, light and fluffy and not too sweet.

Yes, the same ricotta that you would use in a lasagna. Trust me, it works.

Cookies:

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

15 oz ricotta cheese

two eggs

one stick of butter, softened

Zest of one lemon

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon Glaze:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Zest of one lemon

Mix flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream the sugar and butter in mixer for about 3 minutes. Add one egg at a time, blending until each is totally incorporated. Add ricotta, lemon juice and zest and blend well. Stir in dry ingredients. Bake on parchment paper lined cookie sheets at 375 for 15 mins. Let them cool completely, then drizzle glaze on them. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to let the glaze harden.

I mean, come on, how gorgeous are these cookies??

Lesson for today: Don't be afraid to try new things (pineapple beer, cheese in cookies).

Risks can pay off!