In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the eggs at medium speed for about one minute.
Slowly add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and whisk for another minute.
Add the oil and whisk another minute.
Add about a quarter to a third of the total amount of the flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes.
Switch to the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the rest of the flour, one tablespoon at a time. You may not need to use all of the flour. Reserve the 1-2 tablespoons of flour for later.
"Knead" dough for about 8-10 minutes. The dough should be soft, smooth, and slightly sticky at the end of this process. You will notice the dough pulling away from the sides of the bowl while still adhering to the bottom. Alternately, you can knead by hand.
With damp hands, remove the dough from the dough hook. Then on a lightly floured surface, knead for 30 seconds until smooth. The dough should no longer be tacky. If it is, dust with flour and knead a little more.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl, turn once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for one hour.
To make the ricotta filling:
Place the ricotta in the bowl of a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment, mix the ricotta for one minute on low speed.
Add the granulated sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Mix on low speed for one minute.
Add the lightly beaten eggs. Mix to combine. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
The ricotta filling is now ready.
To assemble the pies:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180 °C). Line two baking sheets (or one large) with parchment paper and set them aside.
Prepare your workstation. Have your measuring tools ready, this includes a tablespoon or scooper, a pastry cutter or knife. Use a dough press or a 4-inch biscuit cutter or glass to cut out circles. You will also need the ricotta cheese filling you prepared earlier and the dough.
Lightly flour your work area and cut off one-fourth of the dough. Work with one section at a time, cover the rest of the dough with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Using your fingertips, slightly flatten the dough. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle a little more flour.
Run the dough through a pasta roller 2-3 times on the widest setting, dusting with flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Now change to the next smaller setting and repeat until you reach the number 3 setting. If you are working by hand, roll out the dough as thinly as possible, using a rolling pin. It should be about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness.
Place the sheet of dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a pastry cutter or knife, cut off a square from the dough and run it through the number 4 setting of the pasta roller only once. Place it in the center of the dough press.
Fill the dough with the ricotta cheese filling, about 26 grams, using a tablespoon or small ice cream scooper.
Smooth out the filling, then fold over and press (refer to step-by-step photos in the article).
Smooth out the filling, then fold over and press, to squeeze and seal. Make sure you have a tight seal.
Remove from the press and use your fingertips to properly seal the edges. You can also use the tines of a fork. Alternatively, use a biscuit cutter or glass to cut out circles.
Carefully transfer the ricotta pies to the prepared baking sheets, making sure they are one inch apart, not touching each other. Reroll the scraps of dough and repeat with the remaining ricotta filling and dough.
Brush the tops of the mini pies with an egg yolk wash (whisk together 2 egg yolks with a teaspoon of milk). Then, with a scissor, make three small cuts on the surface of each ricotta pie. This will allow steam to escape during baking.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 325 °F (160 °C) and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the ricotta pies are golden brown in color and the underneath is lightly browned. Depending on your oven, you might want to loosely place a sheet of aluminum paper over the pies to prevent them from over-browning.
Remove from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Serve at room temperature or cold. Can also be frozen.
Notes
The most precise technique to measure flour is by weight. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour and then scoop it using a dry measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. For reference, 1 cup of all-purpose flour = 142 grams [source].
When making the dough, it should turn out soft, but not sticky. If it is a very sticky dough, add flour, a tablespoon at a time, until you get the texture we are looking for.
Lightly flour your work surface, the dough press and the pasta roller to prevent the dough from sticking.
It's important to remove as much moisture from the ricotta before baking. Place it in a cheesecloth-lined colander over a bowl and let sit for several hours or ideally overnight, covered with plastic wrap so that top doesn't dry out too much.
It is important that the ricotta pies are not overfilled, otherwise, they will ooze their filling during baking.
If the ricotta pies are not properly sealed, the filling will leak out during baking. Properly seal the edges by pressing the dough together with your fingertips or using the tines of a fork.
Feel free to adjust the level of sweetness of the ricotta filling by increasing or decreasing the amount of sugar.
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used.