Enjoy A Low Carb Italian Easter Dessert

In Italian-American homes, recipes for Easter desserts are a mixture of tradition, symbolism, light textures and rich tastes. Easter Cookies are usually light, have distinctive flavorings and are easy to make. Ricotta cookies are popular with my family and they can be decorated in Easter colors for the holidays. Since we are eating lower carb foods these days, I have created a low carb Italian Easter dessert that is every bit as good as the original.

Recipe notes: You can use all almond flour if you wish but the baking mix helps to make the cookies tender. For lower carb baking, I use a sugar replacement called Truvia Blend for Baking. It is a combination of erythritol, cane sugar, and stevia leaf extract. I like this substitute because it does not leave an aftertaste in baked goods and it is twice as sweet as sugar; so you only use half as much in a recipe. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of granulated sugar, only ½ cup of Truvia for Baking is needed.

Low Carb Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Makes 3-4 dozen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups low carb baking mix (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup Truvia for Baking or equivalent sugar substitute for 2 cups of sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon, divided

Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered (homemade recipe below) sugar substitute
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the baking mix, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.

In an electric mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar substitute. Add the eggs.

When that mixture is well-blended, add the ricotta cheese, and blend well. Then add the lemon juice and just half of the zest. (Reserve the rest of the zest for the frosting.)

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix well, then with a tablespoon, scoop the cookie batter onto the cookie sheet, about two inches apart.

Flatten each slightly with the back of the spoon.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies brown lightly at the edges. With a spatula, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack; repeat with remaining dough.

While cookies are cooling, prepare the glaze.

In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar substitute, remaining lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth and thin. Add a little water if the glaze is too thick.

The glaze can be divided into smaller bowls and tint each in Easter colors if desired.

Spread the glaze on the top of the cookies. Let cookies dry completely and make sure the glaze has hardened before storing. I store these cookies in the refrigerator.

To serve, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

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Low Carb Powdered Sugar Substitute

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar substitute of choice
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

Directions:

Place the sweetener and arrowroot into a blender or food processor. Blend on high continuously until the mixture is of uniform powdered consistency.

If you enjoyed this low carb Italian Easter dessert recipe, check out what else she is Cooking with March’s Seasonal Foods…

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