Super soft and melt-in-your-mouth tender, these orange chocolate chip ricotta cookies are delicately flavored with fresh orange zest, studded with mini chocolate chips, and topped with a simple citrus icing that sets into the loveliest sheen.
When it comes to cookie textures, chewy cookies are wonderful, and crispy or shortbread-style cookies have their charm, too—but there’s that magical category of soft cookies that bridges the gap between cookie and cake. Think soft, cakey sugar cookies, chocolate madeleines, and soft pumpkin cookies with their unbeatable tender crumb.
Today’s orange chocolate chip ricotta cookies fit right into that category. Ricotta is the secret, just like in my lemon ricotta cookies; it makes the dough incredibly soft, moist, creamy, and tender. Perfect for tea parties, winter baking days, or anytime you want something sweet but not heavy.
And the best part? They stay soft for days (one of ricotta’s true superpowers) and just might taste even better the next day.
Why You’ll Love These Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies:
- Ultra-soft, cakey, melt-in-your-mouth texture thanks to the ricotta.
- Bright citrus flavor: Fresh orange zest + juice = the dream team.
- Mini chocolate chips: Just enough chocolate in every bite without overwhelming the orange flavor.
- They stay soft for days, making them perfect for gifting or prepping ahead.
- Icing sets, so you can easily stack and store these.
3 Key Ingredients You Need:
- Ricotta Cheese: When baked in a cookie, ricotta is less about flavor and more about texture. Think: creamy, moist, soft, and airy. Keep in mind that the higher the fat percentage, the creamier the ricotta will be. We strongly recommend using full-fat (whole milk) ricotta for these cookies.
- 1 Large Orange: You need the zest and the juice for the cookie dough, and more juice for the icing. If your oranges are on the small side, you might need 2.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: You need mini chocolate chips for these cookies—regular chocolate chips are too large for these delicate cookies, and affect the texture.
The rest of the ingredients are pretty standard cookie must-haves: Flour, baking powder + baking soda, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt; plus confectioners’ sugar for the glaze.
How These Compare to My Lemon Ricotta Cookies
If you’ve made my lemon ricotta cookies before, today’s version will feel familiar, but they aren’t identical twins. The base texture is the same ultra-soft, cakey cookie, but the orange version is slightly sturdier. We reduced the ricotta and added a bit more flour compared to the lemon recipe because the addition of chocolate chips introduced extra weight and caused more spreading. With this adjustment, the cookies bake up perfectly tender and beautifully rounded. The flavor profile is different, too: where lemon ricotta cookies are bright and zesty, these orange chocolate chip ricotta cookies feel warmer and cozier. The chocolate adds just enough richness to balance the citrus!
In Photos: How to Make the Cookies
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Cream the butter and sugar. You want this light and fluffy; see how to cream butter and sugar if you want a little refresher on this step. Beat in the egg, ricotta, zest, juice, and vanilla. The mixture will look curdled—this is totally normal for ricotta cookies!
Add dry ingredients. Mix on low just until combined. Don’t over-mix.
Fold in mini chocolate chips. The dough will be thick and sticky, similar to muffin batter.
Cover and refrigerate. Chill the dough for at least 3 hours. The longer it rests, the easier it is to handle when shaping. I prefer chilling it overnight for the best texture.
Scoop, roll, and bake.
My Best Tips for Perfect Ricotta Cookies
Today’s orange ricotta cookies are easy to make, but here are a few tips we learned when testing the recipe:
- Avoid over-spreading: The dough mixture is a cake batter/cookie dough hybrid and that’s why it’s crucial to chill it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before baking. If you don’t, the dough will spread all over your baking sheet. Plus, the longer it chills, the easier it is to work with when it’s time to shape the cookies.
- Cookie size makes a difference: Carefully measure out 1 scant Tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie. You can use a small cookie scoop, but anything larger bakes into flat cookies—more like orange ricotta pancakes (and not the good kind!).
- Extra flour doesn’t work. We even tried reworking the recipe by adding more flour to help prevent excess spreading, but it was useless. Chilling the cookie dough and measuring 1 Tablespoon per cookie were the only things that work in the dough’s favor.
- Expect a sticky dough. Have some flour on hand when you’re scooping and rolling the cookies. You may need to flour your hands periodically, or even wash them a few times as you go. Totally normal and expected.
- Don’t wait for browning—ricotta cookies should remain pale. To test for doneness, lightly poke a cookie with your finger; if it leaves an indent, bake a bit longer. If the surface springs back, the cookies are done.
- Use an icing that sets. To add a little something special (and delicious!), drizzle or spoon orange icing on top of each cooled cookie. You’ll love this orange icing because it eventually sets, making these ricotta cookies easy to store and transport.
More Favorite Citrus Cookies
- Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
- Orange Cranberry Icebox Cookies
- Very Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: around 48 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
These orange chocolate chip ricotta cookies are unbelievably soft and tender, flavored with fresh orange zest and studded with mini chocolate chips. Topped with a sweet citrus icing, they stay soft for days and make a bright, melt-in-your-mouth winter treat.
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for shaping
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 10 ounces (283g) full-fat ricotta cheese, at room temperature (around 1 and 1/4 cups)
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons fresh orange zest
- 1 Tablespoon (15g/ml) fresh orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180g) mini chocolate chips
Icing
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2–3 Tablespoons (30-45g/ml) fresh orange juice
- optional, for garnish: orange zest
Instructions
- Make the cookies: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, then add the ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, orange zest, and orange juice. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips. Beat on low speed just until incorporated. Do not over-mix. Dough will be very creamy, sticky, and thick.
- Cover dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2–3 days. I prefer refrigerating overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Scoop 1 scant Tablespoon of dough for each cookie (20-23g each), using the Tbsp measuring spoon and a lightly floured finger to nudge the dough onto the baking sheet. Lightly flour your finger again and reshape each portion into a ball. Cookie size is important; see recipe Note below.
- Bake for 13–14 minutes, or until the top of a cookie springs back when lightly pressed with your finger. The cookies shouldn’t brown much at all.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.
- Make the icing: In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until smooth. Add an extra 1 or 2 teaspoons of juice to thin out, if desired. Spoon over the cookies. Lightly top each with orange zest, if desired. If applied lightly, the icing will set within a couple hours.
- Iced cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days. You can also freeze ricotta cookie dough. Chill the dough first so it firms up (step 3), then scoop it into mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze the scooped dough until solid, about 2–3 hours, and transfer the frozen mounds to an airtight container or freezer bag, layering with parchment as needed. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, simply bake the dough from frozen, adding a minute or two to the bake time. Baked cookies, cooled but unglazed, freeze well for up to 3 months. (For best taste and texture, icing should be fresh!) Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before glazing.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Ricotta Cheese: We strongly recommend using whole milk/full fat ricotta cheese.
- Can I Use Regular Chocolate Chips Instead of Mini? We don’t recommend it. Regular chips are too large for these delicate cookies and weigh down the dough, causing uneven spreading. Mini chips distribute more evenly and preserve the soft, cakey texture.
- Cookie Size Makes a Difference: Carefully measure out 1 scant Tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie. You can use a small cookie scoop, but anything larger than 1 Tablespoon yields particularly flat cookies. Or let me reword that… orange ricotta pancakes.
- Expect a Sticky Dough: Have some flour on hand when you’re scooping and shaping the cookies. You may need to flour your hands periodically, or even wash them a few times as you go. Totally normal and expected.
- Can I Halve This Recipe? Absolutely. Simply halve all of the ingredients for fewer cookies. The instructions, chill time, and bake times stay the same.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made these today and they are the perfect, pillowy bite of cookie. I let the dough sit overnight and everything turned out as stated in the recipe. Will definitely make these again!
These turned out perfectly! Just as described! I really love the orange flavor. So light and fresh. I’m wondering if the chocolate chips can be omitted?
Absolutely!
These sound amazing! I’m planning on putting them in my Christmas cookie tray for friends & neighbors. Do they have a strong odor? As in, will they make everything else taste like orange?
Hi Andrea, we wouldn’t say it’s particularly strong. Let us know if you try!
These are very good. Soft and moist. I got about 60 cookies from the dough. I needed another cup of glaze.
I have made these four times since Thanksgiving. My giveaway batches are now hidden in the freezer.
Delicious and easy to make. I do double the amount of chips to 2 cups of semi sweet Callebaut chocolate chips.
These are delicious and so easy to make.
Can cottage cheese be used in this recipe instead of ricotta cheese
Hi Roberta, ricotta cheese is really best here.
I made the dough yesterday and baked them today. They were easy to make. They turned out beautifully! They are bagged up and ready to give to my friends and neighbors.
Perfection! They make for the perfect holiday cookie. The glaze takes them over the top, but the cookie on its own is delicious!
These were so good! Very sticky but delish. I never could figure out the flour part so I was glad I wore gloves.
What are your thoughts on using coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Hi Amelia, I don’t recommend using coconut sugar in these cookies. Coconut sugar behaves differently in cookie dough. It’s less sweet, more coarse, and doesn’t cream the same way granulated sugar does. Because these ricotta cookies rely on the right balance of moisture and structure to stay soft, cakey, and not overly dense, swapping the sugar would noticeably change the texture.
Came out great!! Left half the batch unglazed for a simpler cookie (breakfast treat). I used part skim ricotta and added a tsp of orange extract. Very light, soft and pillowy cookies!!
Omg these are to die for! They remind of the chocolate oranges that you bang on the table to break up the slices! lol So good! Great recipe and instructions. They were easy to make!
I made these for an upcoming Christmas party and they are so good! Pillowy and soft, and the Orange Chocolate combo is perfect, I will definitely be making these again.
Wow! Love at first bite. These have a wonderful orange-kissed flavor and they are light and fluffy. The mini chocolate chips are a delightful addition. Absolutely divine. I let my dough chill overnight and I used a mini silicone spatula to scoop the dough out of the tablespoon measuring scoop, no dirty hands!
I made these for a Christmas party and they were a huge hit! I did double the amount of orange zest in the glaze. Thanks for all the notes about keeping the dough chilled! I shaped the balls for the next tray while one was baking and then kept them in the fridge until it was time to go in the oven and I had no spread and great rise on the cookies!
Unbelievably dangerous cookies. These are out of this world delicious and my new favorite baked good.
Hi, Sally. Should we be draining the ricotta prior to use? If so, would we be using 10 oz. before or after draining? Also, love the idea of having a published ingredient list prior to the recipes being released. It would be fun to be able to bake the cookies as they being released rather than wait to go to the store for an ingredient that I may not have on hand. Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Hi Gena, no need to drain or blot the ricotta. Love the suggestion, thank you!
Just yum!!
I’d love to make these when I have ricotta on hand! I have a Neufchatel at the moment–would that work or would I be ruining the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Izzy! I don’t recommend swapping it for ricotta here. Ricotta has a much lighter, looser, and more moisture-rich texture, and it’s really the key to giving these cookies their soft, tender, cake-like crumb. Neufchâtel is denser and tangier, and the cookies wouldn’t bake up the same—they’d likely spread differently and the texture would be off. I’d wait until you have ricotta on hand to get the best results.
Sally, I have a question. Recipe calls for 10 oz ricotta. Do I understand 1 1/4 (1.25) cups? Thank you. I don’t want to mess it up!
Hi Valerie, Yes, 10 ounces of ricotta is about 1 and 1/4 cups. Ricotta varies a bit in moisture level and density from brand to brand, so measuring by weight is the most accurate, but 1 and 1/4 cups will work perfectly if you’re scooping it.
I love orange ricotta cookies, and I’m excited to try Sally’s version!
this brings back memories of Christmas at a high school friend’s house.
Can Ricotta be replaced with Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt in this recipe?
Hi Neha, I don’t recommend it. Ricotta has a uniquely thick, slightly grainy, creamy structure that gives these cookies their signature soft and tender texture. Greek yogurt and sour cream are both much wetter and more acidic, which would make the dough too loose and cause the cookies to spread, turn gummy or bake up flat.
I just saw the recipe for the orange ricotta cookies and have a suggestion. Make a cannoli version. Drop the orange, bump up the vanilla, maybe some sugar (definitely keep the chocolate chips) and then add the secret ingredient ‘ Fiori de Sicilia.’ That’s the secret ingredient in a real cannoli. I’m also a homebrewer and am getting ready to brew a hefeweizen. So when that’s done I’ll try my version and send you my feedback.
Could dried cranberries be substituted for the mini chocolate chips? Thanks!
Hi Nikki, that would be fine!
Can I freeze the raw dough and bake later?
Absolutely. Chill the dough first so it firms up (step 3), then scoop it into mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze the scooped dough until solid, about 2–3 hours, and transfer the frozen mounds to an airtight container or freezer bag, layering with parchment as needed. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, simply bake the dough from frozen, adding a minute or two to the bake time.
When you take them out of the fridge, are you able to scoop them right away?
Yes! Ready to scoop and bake!
Love these recipes – but really wish you provided a shopping list for the week. You don’t have to give us the recipes but making sure I have things on hand would be amazing (I see you ricotta cheese)
Hi Kathleen, I understand, and that’s such a great suggestion for next year. We were so very behind this year due to all of the new cookbook marketing and work, so we will make this a priority for the Palooza next year!
This recipe looks awesome and I’m so excited to bake it!
I have 2 questions about the cookie size:
1. How many grams are in 1 Tbsp of this dough?
2. Do they still come out flat if using less than 1 Tbsp of dough?
Hi Kristen! A Tablespoon of this dough is about 20-23 grams. The dough is thick and creamy, so the weight can vary slightly depending on how much chocolate you scoop up, but that’s the average range. Slightly smaller scoops will bake just a touch thicker, but still soft, tender, and somewhat cakey in the center. Let me know how they turn out for you, I hope you love them!
Hi there! What a fun recipe, i’m planning to make these today and was wondering what your thoughts are on using chopped (bakers) white chocolate bar? I know chopped chocolate vs. chocolate chips have the potential to spread more so I wanted to see what you thought first. unfortunately i’d have to order mini white chocolate chips online or I’d just use those.
Hi Ashley! I’m concerned about the cookies wildly over-spreading using white chocolate. You may need to refrigerate the dough for longer, try adding a touch more flour (I don’t know if that will help much!), or reducing the ricotta a bit. I do think it’s better to make them as written with the mini chips. Let me know if you try anything.
I’m assuming that with the ricotta, these cookies wouldn’t be a good choice for shipping. Please tell me I’m wrong!
Hi Debbie, these wouldn’t be our first choice, no. A sturdier cookie is better for shipping!