Orange Ricotta Cheese Cookies with Raspberry filling Leftovers lead to experimentation that leads to... cookies! I had a half a container of ricotta cheese and just over a half cup of whole milk in the refrigerator that were reaching their expiration dates. Why not substitute them for the butter I always use? These are nice light, almost fluffy cookies, that MUST sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before you try to cut the dough!

Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream 1 cup ricotta cheese 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar all the zest from a large orange all the juice of that orange 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 small jar of raspberry jam Construction: Cream the ricotta cheese, milk, both sugars, and the orange zest Add the vanilla and orange juice Mix in the flour and baking soda Split the dough into two equal sections and roll into logs around around 2" thick. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper Cut the dough logs into segments around 1/2" thick and place with lots of room on the baking sheets. These cookies will spread. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the cookies start to brown on the edges. When the cookies have fully cooled, spread some raspberry jam on one and use a second one to make a sandwich. Store these in the refrigerator.