Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies from Chef Lidia Bastianich

Table with a cup of coffee, a vase of white flowers, and a square plate filled with mounded, cakey chocolate chip cookies — Chef Lidia Bastianich prepares Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies (*Biscotti di Ricotta con Chips di Cioccolato*) on *Lidia's Kitchen*, Season 11, Episode 15 ("Plan the Menu.")

Lidia Mattichio Bastianich is one of the best-loved chefs on public television, a best-selling cookbook author, restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business. Her current PBS series, *Lidia's Italy*, has garnered numerous accolades, including the 2009 James Beard Award for Best Television Show. Her latest cookbook, the lushly illustrated *Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy*, complements the TV series and provides an appetizing look into the regional cooking of many lesser-known parts of Italy. Her previous public TV credits include *Lidia's Family Table*, *Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen*, and *Lidia's Italian Table*. A proud grandmother of five, Lidia's ebullient approach to life and cooking is summed in her signature line, "Tutti a tavola a mangiare!" or "Everybody to the table to eat!"

September 11, 2025

Lidia prepares this recipe on Lidia’s Kitchen, Season 11.

I’ve been making ricotta cookies for years, and my family has always loved these simple, cakey, one-bowl treats. Adding chocolate chips makes them even better! Use a good-quality fresh ricotta here — you will taste the difference.

Makes about 2½ dozen

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INGREDIENTS

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
8 ounces fresh ricotta
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Kosher salt
1 cup mini–chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting, if desired

TO PREPARE

STEP ONE. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

STEP TWO. Cream the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a handheld mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, and add the eggs. Beat until smooth. Add the ricotta and vanilla, and beat to combine.

STEP THREE. Sift the flour and baking powder right into the bowl, and add a pinch of salt. Mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

STEP FOUR. Drop the cookies in heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies, in three rows of five. Bake, rotating the trays from top to bottom halfway through, until the cookies are puffed and golden at the edges, about 16 to 18 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

STEP FIVE. Dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar before serving, if desired.