Pillowy soft Keto Ricotta Cookies are a sweet Italian-style treat. These classic cookies are just as tender and delicious as the original, and totally sugar- and gluten-free!
I am over the moon about these fabulous Italian Keto Ricotta Cookies. They’re so mouthwateringly tender, I might start putting ricotta in all of my keto cookie recipes! And they will most certainly be gracing my keto Christmas cookie platter for years to come. They’re easy to make and look so bright and festive.
I asked my followers on Facebook recently for their all time favorite holiday cookie. There were plenty of requests for keto snowball cookies and keto sugar cookies. And spritz cookies came up quite a few times as well.
Italian ricotta cookies got a few mentions and I knew they were perfect for a sugar-free keto makeover.
Why you will love these cookies
Ricotta cookies are rather unassuming little treats, but don’t be fooled. That plain exterior belies some serious deliciousness. And the most wonderful pillowy soft texture! I was surprised by how much I love them.
They’re also very easy to make. You simply beat the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients, and form into flattened balls. The glaze is quite simple as well.
You can make the cookies in advance and freeze them for later. Which always helps if you are planning ahead for the holidays!
And a serving of two cookies has less than 3g net carbs per serving. So it’s a perfect low carb sweet treat when you need one.
Reader Reviews
“Absolutely love them…made with lemon zest and orange zest. delicious both ways. thank you for my new favorite cookie. my husband agrees!!” — Dawn
“I am three weeks into Keto and these Ricotta Cookies give me reason to live! I did not have keto sprinkles but sprinkled some crushed almonds on top. Delicious!” — Nancy
“These were delicious. I love almonds so I added a little almond flavor as well as the vanilla. I tried without the icing with a bit of chocolate chips on top and the icing was better.” — Clair
Ingredient Notes
- Ricotta: I used full fat ricotta for this recipe. There is no need to drain it in advance.
- Butter: You also need a little butter for the base of these cookies. I often use salted but unsalted is just fine too.
- Sweetener: You need a granulated sweetener for the cookies and a powdered sweetener for the glaze. Please see the Tips for Success for more information.
- Keto flours: I find that mostly almond flour, with just a little coconut flour, gives these keto cookies the best consistency.
- Lemon or orange zest: A little citrus zest is classic in ricotta cookies. But some readers add a little almond extract instead.
- Heavy whipping cream: Heavy cream plus powdered sweetener creates a lovely white glaze.
- Sugar free sprinkles (optional): You can also do chopped nuts or citrus zest.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Combine the wet ingredients: Beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined, then beat in the egg and vanilla extract until creamy. Beat in the ricotta and the zest.
2. Add the dry ingredients: All at once, add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in until the dough comes together.
3. Form the cookies: Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on the 2 baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats. With the palm of your hand, press down to flatten slightly (they should still be rounded and about ¾ inch thick – this helps them crack less on the tops).
4. Bake the cookies: Bake at 325ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, switching the pans partway through baking, until lightly browned. They will still be very soft. Remove and let cool completely on the pans.
5. Prepare the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweetener, cream, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the water, a little at a time, to thin it out. The glaze should be thin enough to dip the cookies.
6. Glaze the cookies: Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze, turn right-side up, and shake the cookie slightly to even it out. Place on a cooling rack and add the sprinkles, if using. Let set 1 hour.
Tips for Success
Most of the conventional recipes for ricotta cookies call for lemon zest and vanilla extract. I used orange zest for a holiday variation. But you can use just vanilla extract or some almond extract instead. Or try anise extract for a classic Italian flavor.
I sincerely feel that the coconut flour helps the consistency of this recipe. But if you absolutely feel it’s necessary, you can replace it with another 3 to 4 tablespoons of almond flour.
Sweetener Options
These keto ricotta cookies work best with erythritol based sweeteners in both the cookies and the glaze. Allulose may work in the cookies but it can cause them to darken more quickly so please keep your eye on them.
For the glaze, powdered allulose tends to make it so soft that it almost disappears when used to coat things. It also never quite firms up properly. If you need to use something like allulose, I recommend adding a little softened cream cheese to give it structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ricotta cheese is an excellent choice for the keto diet. Whole milk ricotta has only 7g of carbs per cup, as well as 28g of protein. And it’s wonderful in both sweet and savory recipes.
Absolutely! The baked cookies freeze well and can be stored for several months. I recommend glazing them after thawing so it’s fresh and bright.
Soft cookies like these are more moist and tender than most. They are fine on the counter for 3 or 4 days but should be refrigerated if they will be around longer than that.
These tender keto cookies have only 5.1g per serving. They also have 2.2g of fiber. That means that they have 2.9g net carbs per two cookies.
More delicious keto ricotta recipes
Keto Italian Ricotta Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (91 g) erythritol sweetener
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (183 g) whole milk ricotta, room temperature
- 2 tsp orange or lemon zest
- 2 cups (210 g) almond flour
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
Glaze
- 1/2 cup (91 g) powdered sweetener
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tbsp water
Garnish
- 2 tbsp keto sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined, then beat in the egg and vanilla extract until creamy. Beat in the ricotta and the zest
- All at once, add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in until the dough comes together.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. With the palm of your hand, press down to flatten slightly (they should still be rounded and about 3/4 inch thick – this helps them crack less on the tops).
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, switching the pans partway through baking, until lightly browned. They will still be very soft. Remove and let cool completely on the pans.
Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweetener, cream, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the water, a little at a time, to thin it out. The glaze should be thin enough to dip the cookies.
- Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze, turn right-side up, and shake the cookie slightly to even it out. (You can also spread the glaze on, and shake the cookie gently to even it out). Place on a cooling rack and add the sprinkles, if using. Let set 1 hour.
Notes
Nutrition
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These are fantastic! SO soft and fluffy!
These were by far the best sugar free cookies we have ever had!!! We’ll make them all year long now, instead of just at the holidays! Thank you!
These are an amazing keto treat! They are so tender and delicous, perfect on any holiday table!
Mine tasted delicious but were very tender, like almost too tender to pick up, what did I do wrong?
Okay, they definitely shouldn’t be that soft… What sweetener did you use? Things like allulose or BochaSweet will make these softer. Or… did your ricotta have a lot of liquid? Or… maybe there wasn’t quite enough flour?
I just made them and they are delicious. I used granular Allulose in the cookie and powdered monk fruit for the frosting. I’m so excited to have a cookie to enjoy with my coffee. My daughters are eating them too not realizing they are keto. Guess I will need to make another batch.
Holy schnikeys, these are amazing! The texture is unique and addictive. I made them with orange zest and topped them with chopped Lily’s chocolate – they are like magic cannoli bites! I’m already dreaming up the next batch, with either almond or peppermint extract (without the zest). I’m sure I’ll try both before Christmas. My dough was really wet for some reason – I added an extra TBSP of coconut flour and that took care of it. Thank you for such a delicious and versatile recipe!
Shnickeys… is that the technical term??? LOL. So glad you like them.
I think Chris Farley said it first 🙂
These are fabulous !
I made these today. I haven’t made the glaze yet but even without the glaze these are amazing!!
Sounds SO good! I’d like to try anise flavor. Would I still use the orange or lemon zest?
Thanks for all your great recipes! Also wanted to ask if BochaSweet would be OK? I prefer the flavor to Swerve.
However you want to do it!
I used BochaSweet granular for the dough and Swerve confectioners for the glaze. I wanted the glaze to crystalize a bit. I used lemon zest with anise extract in the dough and vanilla extract in the glaze. I accidentally made the cookies larger. They looked like southern tea cakes. They were WONDERFUL with an Italian vibe. I’ll make these for family this Christmas. Thank you so much Carolyn.
P.S. My wife is becoming less and less averse to “fake sugar” thanks to your recipes.
Hi Carolyn:
These cookies are absolutely fabulous, I paired with your lemon curd recipe and now making for Thanksgiving!
I did substitute with full fat cottage cheese and smashed up to make smaller curds, it did make a flatter cookie (or I flattened to much) than yours but looks and tastes fantastic!
Thank you for all the work you do in making keto and diabetic friendly foods a possibility.
P.S. Also kudos to replicating some of my childhood Canadian favorites, like butter tarts, Nanaimo Bars and Lemon Curd!!
Glad you enjoy the recipes!
Holy smokes! My new favorite cookie! I made these today so that I’d have something sweet while the others are enjoying cherry pie. I didn’t have ricotta cheese so I substituted mascarpone cheese which I had handy. So darned delicious!!!!
Mascarpone is dreamy. I think that’s a great sub here.
Do you think these could be made with full fat cottage cheese that is blended smooth?
I think it has quite a different texture and much more moisture so I am not sure it would be a good sub.
Thank you!! Just made these! The first Keto cookie I have made that I liked!!
Well that is a ringing endorsement, thank you!
OMG!!! These are delicious!!! I used Whole Milk Double Cream Ricotta and did 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1/4 top Orange Bakery Emulsion. I flattened them a bit to much but they are very good. Did not leave them in long enough 22min…very soft! Have not frosted yet as I am not going to be eating them for a few more weeks. Will make them this summer with lemon. I will also make them just with Vanilla for Christmas. I think they’ll be a perfect Keto sugar cookie substitute.
I am.going to try the Anise. For a traditional Italian Christmas cookie.
Do I use only the Anise no Vanilla?
I live your recipes. I have your book and I use it regularly. Thank you for such terrific recipes. They are DELICIOUS!!
Is the butter in this recipe salted or unsalted?
Unsalted.
I made these yesterday and they are so good and soft! I added lemon zest to the dough and lemon juice to the glaze.
Excellent!
Hi! I can’t wait to make these but I am not sure I understand what you mean by “Bake 15 to 20 minutes, switching the pans partway through baking.” What do you mean switching the pans? Thank you in advance for your help!
2 pans, on 2 different racks in the oven. Switch their positions partway through to even out the heat (every oven has hot spots).
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Can’t wait to make these cookies.
Carolyn, if I wanted to use Anise, how much? Thanks!
I think a teaspoon would be enough. In the cookies only. Leave the glaze unflavoured so it’s not overpoweringly anise. Or use vanilla in the glaze.
I am definitely going to try this recipe.
But I was wondering.. I used to make a wonderful soft molasses/gingersnap cookie. Do you have a recipe for something like that?
Love your recipes.
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-chewy-ginger-cookies/