Did you know that our Talluto brand retail stores sell the very same cheese that we use to make our homemade ravioli??? Try using our ricotta cheese in your baking recipes. Your cakes, pies, cookies, and cannoli will all taste richer and more flavorful than ever!
When we make Talluto's ravioli, we use a very specific type of ricotta cheese called "ricotta impastata". The word impastata means "mixed or kneaded" in Italian. This type of ricotta cheese is smooth, thick, creamy, and has a very low moisture content. It is often used in cooking to mix into fillings or knead into pasta doughs. Talluto's ricotta impastata is unique because it is made with only the following 4 ingredients: milk, cream, vinegar, and salt.
There are no THICKENERS, STARCHES, OR STABILIZERS added to our cheese. Therefore, you will find that Talluto's impastata is perfect in baking and other Italian desserts as well. Your cakes, pies, cookies, and cannoli will all taste richer and more flavorful than ever! No draining necessary :)
We sell Talluto's Ricotta Impastata in all 3 of our Talluto brand retail stores. I encourage you to give it a try in your holiday baking recipes. You will definitely notice a difference!
We have shared a couple of our family recipes featuring our delicious ricotta cheese below👇
Italian Almond Ricotta Cookies with Amarena Cherries
(makes approximately 2 & 1/2 dozen cookies)
Ingrdients:
1/3 cup of Talluto's Impastata Ricotta cheese
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (or more, to taste)
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 & 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 small jar of Amarena cherries
PINK ICING
1 cup of confectioner's sugar
2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of milk or cream
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
a few drops of red food coloring
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the softened butter with the ricotta cheese. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the vanilla extract, the almond extract, and egg, then mix again to combine the wet ingredients. Mix the a/p flour, the almond flour, & the baking powder together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Put the cookie dough into a pastry bag to deposit the "hearts" onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet approximately 1 & 1/2 inches apart. Use your fingers to shape and pinch the dough hearts. (See the image below.)You could also simply scoop the dough into a ball, if desired.
Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes until slightly browned on the bottom side. Remove the cookies from the oven and (using the back of a small measuring spoon) make an indentation into the warm cookie. Add one Amarena cherry to each cookie. Once the cookies are cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with a little pink-tinted icing.
Enjoy!
Grandmom Talluto's Cannoli Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup of salted butter, softened (+ more for greasing the pan)
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups of Talluto's impastata ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces of dried-candied citron or orange peel, chopped (OPTIONAL)
CANNOLI ICING
1 cup of confectioner's sugar
2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of milk or cream
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 inch springform pan by greasing the bottom and the size with some softened butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease the top of the paper as well.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Combine the softened butter with the sugar and the oil. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Continue to beat for an additional minute while adding one egg at a time. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the ricotta cheese to the wet mixture. Mix on low speed until the cheese is fully combined. Begin adding the dry mixture a little at a time to the wet mixture. Continue to mix on low speed until all of the dry mixture has been incorporated. Lastly, add the chocolate chips and the dried fruit (if using). Gently mix the chips into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top using a rubber spatula. Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven. While the cake is still hot, carefully run a knife along the sides of the cake so that it easy releases from the springform pan. Remove the collar of the pan from the cake. Carefully lift the cake from the bottom of the pan, remove the parchment paper, and place it on a baker's rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, prepare the icing as follows. In a small bowl, whisk the confectioner's sugar with the cream and the vanilla extract until it is smooth. Once the cake has cooled, drizzle the icing over the top and sprinkle with a light dusting of cinnamon. You can decorate the top of the cake with coated chocolate candy eggs, edible flowers, or other seasonal treats!
Pumpkin Ricotta Cookies with Browned Butter Icing
(This recipe makes approximately 2 & 1/2 dozen cookies)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup of canned unsweetened pumpkin
1/3 cup of Talluto's Impastata Ricotta cheese
1 stick of butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups of all-purpose flour
BROWNED BUTTER ICING
2- 1/2 tbsps butter, salted
1 - 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
3-4 tbsp milk
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the softened butter with the ricotta cheese. Add the brown and the white sugars and mix well. Add the vanilla, pumpkin, and egg, then mix again to combine the wet ingredients. Sift the flour, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Dollop a spoonful of the cookie dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet approximately 1 & 1/2 inches apart. You could also use a pastry bag to pipe the cookies into an "S" shape. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes until slightly browned on the bottom side. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely before icing.
To prepare the icing, melt the butter in a small pan and allow it to brown. Immediately scrape the browned butter into a bowl with the confectioners' sugar. Add the milk and whisk together until smooth. Once the cookies cool, spread or drizzle the icing over top. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, if desired.
Have you ever used our ricotta in your baking recipes? Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below!!!
-Joanne Talluto Brown