Cannoli
September 5, 2009 | Print | E-mail | Filed under chocolate, fried, Italian, ricotta
Last Friday, my adventurous friend Becky and I got together to try cooking something new. This time we decided on cannoli, adapted from this recipe. Or is it cannolis? I’m not actually sure what the correct plural of the word is, but I’ll go with cannoli for the sake of consistency. Anyway, we did the cooking at her place, and not only was it lots of fun, but the cannoli were easier to make than I thought they would be. The shells turned out more chewy than crunchy, but they were delicious nonetheless…and her whole house smelled like a pastry shop by the time we were done frying all the shells. Someone needs to make that smell into a scented candle! Give these a try over the holiday weekend – you won’t be disappointed!
For the shells:
- 4 cups flour
- 4 Tbsp shortening
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup Marsala wine
- 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
- Vegetable oil for frying
For the filling:
- 1 and 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 Tbsp orange zest
Wrap each oval of dough around the cannoli form, sealing the overlapping sides with a little egg white wash.
Drop a few shells at a time into the hot oil, and fry only a few minutes until golden brown. Remove them to a paper towel to drain, and when cool enough, remove the shells from the cannoli forms.
To make the filling, mix the powdered sugar with the ricotta cheese. Add the vanilla and orange zest and mix until well-blended.
Move the shells to the refrigerator to chill. When they have cooled, use a piping bag to fill the shells with the ricotta filling.
Each of us ended up with somewhere between 45-55 cannoli. Perfect for bringing to a party!
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September 6th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Perfect bite sized desserts!! They look so good! And easy! I’m going to make my dad cut me some wooden pieces I can use instead of the tubes, since they arent available here!! And then I can make these
September 6th, 2009 at 7:50 am
these look awesome! If I made these my husband would eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner until were gone! That filling looks yummmmmm !
September 6th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I love cannoli… I have been meaning to make some for quite a while. Where did you get your cannoli forms?
September 6th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Jen – my mother-in-law generously gave me all of hers. I’m not sure where she got them, but I’m guessing they came from her mom.
I’ll have to find out!
September 6th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Oh these look so delicious! I have never had homemade cannoli.
September 6th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Forget the candle…I’d like to dab a little of that behind my ears!
You are so great at trying adventurous things in the kitchen! I bet they were delicious!
September 6th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Yum! They look yummy! Oh, and one is cannolo and the plural is actually cannoli!
September 6th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
GREAT job to both of you! These are perfect! yum!
September 7th, 2009 at 5:32 am
Love the step by step pictures!
September 7th, 2009 at 7:21 am
Oh gosh…. I LOVE these.. no, I mean.. I LOOOOOOVE these! Cannoli are always the highlight of our vacations to italy.. whenever we step into the local bakery in the village where my grandma lives, the shopkeeper will immediately start looking for the cannoli.. *lol*
Greetings from the netherlands!
September 7th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Maryellen, thanks for letting me know!!
September 7th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
These cannoli look so cute and yummy! Thanks for the step-by-step photos.
September 8th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Oh, I’m glad I came upon your blog today… I looooove cannoli! I did a long post a few months ago on how to make homemade cannoli. Love the stuff. Yours look fabulous!
September 9th, 2009 at 11:36 am
wow. very ambitious of you to make cannoli. They look delicious. There is a pastry shop here in the North End of Boston that makes the best cannoli I have ever had in my life…seriously. I’ve never attempted to make them but, being Italian, maybe I should. You’ve inspired me.
September 9th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I could eat the whole pan of cannolis. However, my thighs would hate me.
November 28th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Your cannoli look great! And cannoli cupcakes? What a good idea! YUM!
May 5th, 2010 at 9:14 am
those look awesome! i have to try them. but I read in the comments that someone was going to use wooden cores…does anyone know if it worked?