I made MJ's Dinner Party chicken yesterday and I want to publicly say thank you to MJ for sharing that one. Big hit with the family (btw, my vegetarian daughter is away at school, if you haven't guessed).
Anyway, take a look, aren't they pretty?
This was before they went into the oven. Another thing MJ was right about - the house smelled wonderful as they baked.
We loved the chicken, and I loved how easy it was to put this delicious dish together. I would be delighted to serve this to guests. It's elegant and tasty. A win-win.
But...
When I was shopping for this recipe's ingredients I realized I'd forgotten to write down how much ricotta cheese I needed.
Oops.
To be on the safe side, I asked for a pound and the lovely young woman behind the counter gave me a very healthy pound. Almost 1.25. MJ's recipe calls for 3/4 cup, which means I had a lot left over.
What to make with the extra?
I searched Allrecipes.com and ifood.tv for recipes containing ricotta and I found this one:
You can get the recipe by clicking the title above. I would normally type it in its entirety here, but I can't, in good conscience, do that this time. This recipe belongs to the person who posted it at Allrecipes and I didn't change a thing.
If I adapt a recipe I have no problem posting it here, but this one I followed step by step and it would be unfair to take credit for it.
I will tell you that these cookies are wonderful. I used to make something my neighbor always called Italian cookies and we loved them, but they're a lot of work. A lot of work.
These ricotta cookies taste a great deal like my Italian cookies. The only difference is that these are soft. So far, one of my daughters prefers these. I'll check with the rest of the family, assuming this batch lasts that long! I have to tell you - my daughter likes them enough that she's encouraging me to make a fresh batch for Easter.
Simple, and easy to pull together assuming you have ricotta cheese in the house. BTW - I halved the recipe because I didn't have enough for a full one.
So, from MJ's Party Chicken leftovers we get Cookies!
How fun is that?
Julie
Grace Interrupted, coming June 7th to a bookstore near you!
I don't think I've ever had ricotta cheese cookies! Sounds wonderful, though. And a great way to use up your extra cheese!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try MJ's chicken...it's on my TBC list (to be cooked)! :)
I love how you came up with a recipe to use the extra cheese with. May have to try that one day.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lovely recipe, and my daughter is definitely in the soft-cookie camp (and makes most of the cookies these days).
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this would work well with added flavoring? For some unknown reason I want to add anise seed (and I don't even like it that much). Other suggestions?
Elizabeth - MJ's chicken is great. You're going to love it!
ReplyDeleteDru - I really hate to waste and since ricotta isn't an ingredient I've used very often, I had to search. Thank goodness for websites with great ideas!
Sheila - There was another recipe - also cookies - that included almond flavoring. I almost went with that one, but this one looked just a tiny bit easier. I think a little almond goes well with most butter-based cookies. I wonder if they'd be good with lemon... hmm...
Well, of course, I often have ricotta left over and as it's 'fresh' cheese, it doesn't keep for long. Thanks for an excellent solution, Julie! I'll be trying these. It is almost impossible to get recipes from my elderly Italian relatives, and they do make soft cookies. Now I'll be a step ahead.
ReplyDeleteJulie, sounds wonderful. And how sweet are you to post the link. Thanks so much. I love using cream cheese in cookies. I hadn't thought of ricotta. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteYou White House chefs are so clever!
~Avery
MJ- I have the "other" Italian cookie recipe, but it's so long and involved and time consuming that I haven't shared it here. Wonderful hard cookies with frosting. I'll be happy to send it to you if you ever want it.
ReplyDeleteAvery - I can't even tell you how much I am into cheeses these days. All thanks to you!
Wonderful! I enjoy using ricotta cheese in recipes, too. (It's the secret ingredient in my pistachio muffins -- makes them so moist.) This cookie recipe reminds me of so many that my Italian relatives made over the years. Great idea to make MJ's Dinner Party Chicken and put your extra ricotta to good use, too.
ReplyDeleteTGIF!
~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
Cleo Coyle on Twitter
I remember those muffins, Cleo, and I'm glad you reminded me. I need to pull that recipe up and give it a go. Baking with ricotta was easy and the results so great!
ReplyDelete