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These cottage cheese cookies are lightly sweet, crisp and crumbly. They are just right with a piping hot cup of tea (or coffee). They are also excellent with milk.
I took them to my sisters house tonight and we spread raspberry honey creme over the top and proceeded to wolf them down like it’s nobody’s business. Her 7-month-old also gummed the lights out of one and needed a bath afterwards. He’s such a cute goober. I wish I had snapped a picture of him with his cookie.
I love discovering new blogs. I especially love finding European-type blogs because it’s very likely that we have foods in common. Last week, I came across One Turkmen Kitchen and that is where I found the original cottage cheese cookies recipe.
My only changes: I converted everything to US measurements and added lemon zest (because I have like a gazillion lemons from our trip to California).
Ingredients for Cottage Cheese Cookies:
2 sticks or 16 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
8 oz small-curd cottage cheese
zest of 1 lemon
2 1/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour *measured correctly
1/4 tsp baking powder
5 Tbsp granulated sugar

How to Make Cottage Cheese Cookies:
Preheat your Oven to 350˚F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together your softened butter, 8 oz small-curd cottage cheese and the zest of one lemon. Mix on Medium/high speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.


2. Sift in the 2 1/4 cups flour and 1/4 tsp baking powder (or whisk together flour and baking powder instead of sifting) and knead it together with your dough hook or by hand until your dough is soft and not sticking to your fingers. If you find it is still sticking to your fingers, add another Tbsp of flour.


3. Roll the dough into a ball and then roll it out on a smooth, non-stick surface until it is 1/4″ thick.

4. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out your cookies, cutting as many as you can out of your dough.

5. Pour your sugar into a flat plate. Dip one side of your cookie into the sugar and gently pat it down to coat generously with sugar. Fold it in half with the sugar on the inside. Dip one of the folded sides of your cookie in the sugar again and fold it in half with the sugar on the inside. When you fold, the sugar will always be on the inside.
If you accidentally dip both sides of your cookie in sugar (I did a couple times) don’t panic, it will still be edible. Place the finished cookies on the baking sheet, fairly close together, since they don’t expand very much. Make a ball of dough out of the remaining scraps and roll it out again and again until you’ve used up all of your dough.


6. Bake at 350˚F for 32-35 minutes or until the edges and tops are golden brown.

Are you making any any new cookies for the holidays?
Cottage Cheese Cookies Recipe

Ingredients
- 2 sticks or 16 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz small-curd cottage cheese
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 5 Tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your Oven to 350˚F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together your softened butter, 8 oz small-curd cottage cheese and the zest of one lemon. Mix on Medium/high speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder (or whisk together flour and baking powder instead of sifting) and knead it together with your dough hook or by hand until your dough is soft and not sticking to your fingers. If you find it is still sticking to your fingers, add another Tbsp of flour.
- Roll the dough into a ball and then roll it out on a smooth, non-stick surface until it is 1/4" thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out your cookies, cutting as many as you can out of your dough.
- Pour your sugar into a flat plate. Dip one side of your cookie into the sugar and gently pat it down to coat generously with sugar. Fold it in half with the sugar on the inside. Dip one of the folded sides of your cookie in the sugar again and fold it in half with the sugar on the inside. When you fold, the sugar will always be on the inside. If you accidentally dip both sides of your cookie in sugar (I did a couple times) don't panic, it will still be edible. Place the finished cookies on the baking sheet, fairly close together, since they don't expand very much. Make a ball of dough out of the remaining scraps and roll it out again and again until you've used up all of your dough.
- Bake at 350˚F for 32-35 minutes or until the edges and tops are golden brown.
Thank you for the recipe – I just baked these cookies and they look and taste lovely. I baked 34 minutes to achieve the pink golden tint I like on my cookies. In my childhood these were called “jabot” after decorative vintage lace collars.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
These are so good! My favorite cookies have always been творожное печенье, and these cottage cheese cookies are as close as you can get from the local ingredients. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Thank you for the wonderful review and you are very welcome 😬.
Hi Natasha,
Would these be okay stored in an airtight container and how long can they be stored for?
Hi Viktoriya, Yes that would be fine and I think they would be best enjoyed within 3-5 days.
Hi Natasha,
I am baking these cookies as I type and anxiously waiting to see how they turn out! One thing I noticed, was that my dough was full of cottage cheese curds. looking by your picture, I don’t see you had the same problem. I did buy small curds, maybe I will need to blend them in a blender next time. Any suggestions ? Its too late to do anything now, but hoping they will still be yummy!
Hi Mila, there were still some cottage cheese curds but yes the dough was exactly like what you see in the photo. It might be brand specific – some cottage cheese curds are more formed and defined (daisy) versus some are a little softer and easier to blend (darigold, etc). If using daisy, you might blend the cottage cheese a little longer until it is more broken up in the stand mixer, or until it looks like what I have in the photo. I hope that helps and I hope you love the cookies! 🙂
I made these last night and YUMM, love that they are slightly sweet! And such an easy recipe!
I didn’t have lemon so I added vanilla extract.
Q: Do you rinse the cottage cheese?
Q: Baking time is based on an electric stove? I have a gas stove and had to keep checking to make sure they didn’t burn.
Hi Yana! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!! Thank you for sharing your substitution! I did not rinse the cottage cheese and yes it is based on an electric stove. Did you have to modify the bake time with a gas stove? Thanks Yana!
Yes, on the convection setting (gas stove) I had to take out around 25/28minutes. But on the regular setting (gas stove) it took longer, about 38/40minutes. Next time, I will test again to make sure this is true.. and will use zest. 🙂
Forgot to add the stars to my review! Also there’s a typo in my review – I was starting to think that the cookies would NOT work when I saw the large curds and the sticky dough. Glad I persevered! Lovely cookies, thank you!
thanks for inspiration. I made it with homemade cheese and only honey. I used coconut oil instead of butter. adjusted flour. Smells great and tasted great.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Hi Natasha,
M daughter and I made these cookies couple days ago. What a success! These are easy to make with a kid and all family and my co-workers enjoyed them afterwards. Love your website!!! You should try to go to Food Network star. I would be rooting for you! 😉 My respect and good wishes to you and your family.
Julia, thank you for the compliment and I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 😁. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha,
Do you think if I substitute flour with almond floor, the cookies will turn out ok? I’m allergic to gluten.
Also, instead of sugar to use honey?
I’ll experiment, but from your professional view, what do you think?:)
Hi Ale, without testing it myself, I can’t say for sure, but I’m not sure that the almond flour can get the dough to a rollable consistency. I would probably experiment with gluten free flour before almond flour for these. The same goes for honey. I think it could work but your other proportions of flour will have to be adjusted as well. Sorry I don’t have a more concrete answer for you.
Hi Natasha. I love your recipes. What if i make this with homemade cheese? Will that work?
Hi Ruslana, is it a homemade cottage cheese or tvorog (farmers cheese)? I haven’t tested it with farmers cheese but I imagine it would work, except it is more dry than cottage cheese so you will probably need less flour to get the dough to the right consistency.
Thankyou, I will let you know☺
Hi Natasha,
Can you freeze these cookies ☺
I haven’t tried freezing them so I can’t say for certain. If you try it, let me know how it goes! Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Hi Natasha I was just wondering if I could substitute the granulated sugar for brown sugar
I have not tried that substitution so you would have to experiment. I imagine cookies won’t be as light in color. Let me know how it works out if you try it 🙂 .
Hello Natasha, Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. Do you have a good recipe with soft dough for cookie Oreshki. I bought my Electrical Oreshnitsa from WA and I love it but I want to find a soft dough for Oreshki. Viktoria.
Viktoria, I don’t have a recipe for that, wish I could help.
Hey! I have everything expect for a lemon! What if I don’t add the Lemon in? Could I substitute it for something else?
You could just leave it out – it won’t have any of that “hint of lemon” flavor but it will still taste good. You can also add a small amount of orange zest if you like 🙂
These look awesome! I think I will try to make them over the weekend. I think I would like to add sugar to the actual batter as well, just so they are on a sweeter side and could be served as dessert. Do you think that would work and how much sugar do you think I should add? Thanks!
Have you tried these the way they are? Dipping in sugar really adds enough sweetness.
Hey Natasha,
We were snowed it here in Atlanta GA, so there was nothing better to do than bake! I decided to try these delightful cookies that have been on my list to make for a while and they turned out perfect! I didn’t have a lemon so I just skipped the lemon zest and they still turned out wonderful! They are so dangerous though, while I was waiting for the cookies to cool down and devoured three cookies one after another within a minute! I just couldn’t control myself! I dusted them with some powdered sugar once the cookies had cooled down and they were beautifully presented and oh so delicious! Thanks so much for this easy recipe!! 🙂 Keep up the awesome work!
I should have dusted mine with powdered sugar. Doesn’t it make everything better? I’m so happy you like the cookies 🙂
Thank you Natasha for the recipe! The cookies turned out great, not sweet at all. I have used brown sugar and whole wheat flour, and dusted with powder sugar on top! Since I only have mixer, farmer cheese might be better (since it got almost no curd).
I bet it was the brown sugar that made them less sweet. I’ll have to try it. It’s great to know they worked well with whole wheat flour too and they were probably beautiful with the powdered sugar!
These tender, flaky little gems turned out perfect. I have to hide them from my husband because he keeps going back for more. Thanks for yet another perfect recipe.
By the way, I didn’t have raspberry honey crème, so we used orange marmalade slathered slightly on top….mmmmmm!
“slathered slightly” Is there such a thing as a light slather? lol
That’s awesome! You know its good when you have to hide them. 😉
I made a double portion because i have a big family. They came out very good! I shared with my married daughter and she LOVED them. Also, i got a comment from my son-in-law that i should make them more often. Thank You so much! I enjoy looking at all your recipes and this was the 1st one i tried!
I hope you find many many more favorites! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Can these be made with farmer’s cheese as well? As a substitute for cottage cheese?
Several of my readers have made them with farmers cheese with great results. I will be trying that next time I make them.