The Spiced Life Kitchen/Cookie Carnival's Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Did you know that the more I like something the less likely I am to use it? Oh it's true, I am whacked. I will sit and treasure the anticipation, waiting for the perfect moment to use that something for the first time. Meanwhile it will sit and collect dust. Anyway, I have acquired a few pieces of art that I have not hung for similar reasons--because I like to sit and stare at them, trying to decide exactly where the best spot for them is.


I am happy to announce I have finally made a decision about one of them. My brother Nick and his wife Alyssa made this plaque for me for Christmas (they probably think I have waited forever to hang the thing but by Laura standards it really has not been that long) and I had been hemming and hawing for forever between 2 different spots in the kitchen. And I finally chose one! Yay! Isn't it gorgeous?


OK, on to food. I found an awesome blogging event recently--the Cookie Carnival, hosted by The Clean Plate.  First, it is all cookies, and if you don't know how much I like cookies, just check out my tag sidebar on the right. Second, participation is not required every month (hello Daring Bakers, which I cannot seem to participate in more than a few months in a row). Third, and maybe this was an anomaly this month, I am not sure, we got to vote on the recipe--that rocks! And better yet, the cookie I voted for won. If you like cookies, this is a great event.


I was extra excited about this month's cookie because I decided it would be a good cookie to make for my parent's annual pig roast. You may remember this last year, when I churned out 500 cookies, evenly split between chocolate chip (Bill Yosses' Best) and World Peace cookies. More on what else I made this year to come in the next few days, but I decided to add a lemon cookie as well and then lo and behold a lemon cookie popped up as the Cookie Carnival cookie.


Giada De Laurentiis' Lemon Ricotta Cookies With Lemon Glaze are a winner. Everyone who tried them commented to me how much they liked them. I made a few experiments earlier in the week and decided we actually preferred them without the glaze, although my sister commented that she wished it was there, so the glaze seems to be personal preference (but I do recommend leaving it off if serving at a very large, very hot outdoor BBQ). The cookies are very cakey, so while they will stay moist over several days, they will also get that slightly sticky outer layer of moistness that sometimes happens to bundt cakes after a few days.  Be sure to check out The Clean Plate in early August for the round up.


You'll have to pardon the pictures--trying to grab a few snapshots as 100 sugar-craving guests descend is not so easy! And the cookies were not super fresh when I took the pic (since the cookies must be made in advance) and got kind of banged around on the drive to Columbus. I would have taken the pics when they came out of the oven but I was multi-tasking and up to my ears in other pig roast preparation activities.