Fiori di Sicilia Cookies

The crumb is pillowy and soft, and each bite resembles a little panettone-flavored cake.

Fior di Sicilia-flavored ricotta cookies next to a bottle of Fiori di Sicilia.

Serious Eats / Carrie Vasios Mullins

Why It Works

  • The vanilla scented, mixed citrus extract imparts a flavor reminiscent of panettone.
  • Ricotta gives these cookies a soft, pillowy crumb.

For me, perusing baking and cooking catalogues falls under the category of things I like to do when my brain hurts too much to do anything else. Flipping through, giving myself no harder questions than, "hmm, how much would I actually use this castle-shaped bundt pan?", is a source of pure relaxation. Admittedly, these catalogues are the world of one-hit wonders (lemon juice powder, anyone?), so I usually don't buy anything.

But sometimes, yes sometimes, I do.

This time I was drawn in by the word panettone, which my eyes find on a cluttered page like an owl spots a mouse in a grassy field. "Italians use it to scent their panettone and pandoro," read the full description, launching me towards my computer to buy it.

Though I love panettone, it feels wrong to eat it outside of Christmastime. Having panettone flavor in a bottle may sound unappealing to some of you, but to me, it's a glorious solution to my yearly panettone withdrawal. It might be better to put it this way—would you like to flavor your sweets with a vanilla scented, mixed citrus extract? Yes, I think you would.

My first project with the new extract was to pair it with a ricotta cookie, and the results were stellar. The crumb is pillowy and soft, and each bite resembles a little panettone-flavored cake. The cookies aren't overly floral or sweet, and the mixed citrus flavor gives them a delectable flavor that I'll be enjoying year round.

March 2014

Recipe Details

Fiori di Sicilia Cookies

Active 15 mins
Total 35 mins
Serves 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 egg

  • 1 egg yolk

  • 7 ounces full-fat ricotta cheese

  • 1 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (see note)

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in egg and egg yolk. Beat in ricotta and Fiori di Sicilia until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until just combined.

  4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets and bake until lightly browned on the bottom, about 18 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Special Equipment

Stand mixer, baking sheets, parchment paper

Notes

Fiori di Sicilia is a mixed citrus extract often used to flavor panettone. It's available online at King Arthur Flour.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
98 Calories
4g Fat
14g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories 98
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 32mg 11%
Sodium 68mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 28mg 2%
Iron 0mg 3%
Potassium 24mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)