Recipe for Lemon Ricotta Biscuits
Updated April 28, 2011
The other day we were flipping channels and stopped on the Food Network. Giada was making her grandmother's lemon ricotta biscuits. We recently made Giada's lemon ricotta cookies and fell in love, so we knew we had to try these!!
The biscuit dough was easy to make and unlike other biscuits, you bake these in muffin tins! They have the nice shape of a muffin, but the texture is similar to a biscuit. The biscuits are dense, but not crumbly. The ricotta cheese keeps these babies moist and the lemon juice and zest adds a fresh lemon flavor.
I also loved the addition of almond extract. A little goes a long way so be careful when using this stuff. You are supposed to top the biscuits with almonds, but I only added them to a few since Josh is allergic. I loved the added crunch! I didn't want the other biscuits to feel left out so I whipped up a lemon glaze to drizzle on top. I am glad I added this! It was the perfect finish!
Lemon Ricotta Biscuits
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar or more as needed for sprinkling ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons) 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese 1 large egg 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice ½ teaspoon almond extract ⅓ cup thinly sliced almonds (I only put these on a few muffins, since Josh is allergic)
Glaze: Powdered Sugar Lemon Zest Lemon Juice
Whisk together in a bowl. Just eye ball the ingredients. If it is too thick add more juice!
Directions
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.
Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).
Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins.
Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.