Enjoy authentic, delicious cannoli in your home with this great recipe! A crisp, deep-fried pastry shell is filled with ultra-soft ricotta filling and finished with chewy, sugared citrus rinds, salty pistachios, or sweet chocolate chips.
¾-1cuppowdered sugar (to taste) plus extra for dusting
OPTIONAL: vanilla, orange bitters, or another alcohol-based flavoring
Cannoli Toppings
½cupchopped, salted pistachios
½cupchocolate chips
½cupsugared fruit rinds
Instructions
Cannoli Shell
First, sift all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Using two forks, cut in the cold pieces of butter. You can also use the tips of your fingers to rub the mixture together, further, until it resembles a rough texture with pea-sized lumps of flour. Then, make a well in the center of the bowl by pushing the flour out to the edges.
Add one of the beaten eggs to the center of the well and start mixing with a fork slowly from the inside, pulling flour into the center. When about half of the flour is mixed into the egg, stop and move to the next step.
Next, add one tbsp of the wine and your vinegar to the center of the bowl. Mix as much as you can, but it will get too thick for the fork.
At this point, turn the bowl over onto your pastry mat and knead the dough for about five minutes. You may add up to a tbsp more of the wine if the dough isn't coming together.
Pull off a small, palm-sized ball of dough and flatten it slightly in your hands. Hold it up to a light source, like a window or lamp, and slowly stretch the dough. If you can see light through the dough, before it tears, your gluten is properly developed. If it tears too quickly, knead a minute or two more, testing again.
Once the dough is properly kneaded, wrap it tightly in some plastic and set it in the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of thirty minutes. This ensures that the flavors of the dough properly come together, and also gives the gluten time to rest before frying. During this time I like to prepare my ricotta filling.
After your dough has chilled, pour your oil into a large, sturdy pot and set the thermometer inside. Heat the oil to 375°F.
Set some paper towels on top of a cooling rack over a baking sheet (to catch drips) beside your heating oil.
While the oil is heating, flour your pastry mat with the semolina, and split your chilled dough into two halves. Roll out each of the halves to about ⅛-inch thick.
Use the cookie cutter to stamp out as many ovals from the dough as you can, placing them aside. Then, roll the cut-outs just a little bit flatter. The cannoli will puff a lot in the fryer, so the best cannoli are made with dough as thin as you can manage!
Carefully wrap an oval of dough around the cannoli tube. Wet your finger with the egg mixture and apply the egg to one edge of the cannoli. Bring the other edge over top and press down gently to secure. Complete this step directly before frying the cannoli, and only wrap as many around the tubes as can fit in the pot at once. I found that if I let the wrapped cannoli sit with the egg mixture while others fried, they would separate and not remain on the tubes while frying.
Carefully place a few cannoli into the frying pot. Be extra cautious, as the oil is extremely hot. Pay attention to the temperature as well; if it falls too low, the shells will become over-saturated with oil. However, if the temperature is too high, they will burn on the outside before being fully cooked. If a cannoli falls off of the tube, don't fret, just let it fry. It won't look like a traditional cannoli, but these "mistakes" taste just as good.
Once the cannoli have fried for about 3-4 minutes, or have reached a nice golden brown color, carefully, using your skimmer, lift out each one and place it on the drying rack. Be extra careful to drain the oil from each tube, before pulling it out of the pan fully, if yours are hollow.
Repeat the process of securing a few more cannoli around the tubes and frying them until all are done.
As soon as you can handle touching the cannoli, gently slide them off of the tubes. Then, let the cannoli shells cool to room temperature. Do not fill them until you are ready to serve, as they may become soggy. However, the shells will last in a covered container at room temperature for up to a week!
Cannoli Filling
Set your ricotta cheese in a strainer overtop a bowl to catch any drips. Let this sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I like to do this before starting on my dough. However, I've purchased wonderful ricotta cheese from a local market that was dry and drained. It came in a block, like parmesan. If you can find some ricotta not stored in water, that will save you the hassle.
Once your ricotta is thoroughly drained, place it and the goat's cheese in a sieve. Use a spatula to carefully push the cheese through, creating a lovely, light, and smooth texture. Some authentic recipes claim to sieve the ricotta multiple times. I used a very fine sieve, but just once, so it was fine.
To the sieved cheese, add your powdered sugar and mix, gently, just until combined. I also added about 13 drops of orange bitters to the cheese at this point to echo the flavor of the sugared citrus rind topping. It was subtle but superb! You can use vanilla, another flavor, or keep it super traditional and not add anything at all! Keep in mind, over mixing the cheese can actually make it more watery and cause the filling to break down. So, only mix until everything is just combined.
Add the ricotta filling to your piping bag, securing it tightly. Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This allows the sugar to dissolve fully, creating an ultra-smooth, sweet taste. I like to let it rest while I fry the cannoli shells. This filling can last in the refrigerator for 5 days. You may notice a little water gathered at the tip of the bag, but it's okay. Just squeeze it out and use like normal.
Filling The Cannoli
Cut off a corner of your piping bag. It doesn't have to be perfect, just make the hole about an inch and a half wide.
Insert the piping bag into one end of the cannoli shell, and apply pressure to the top of the bag. Press gently, but firmly, pushing the filling into the center of your cannoli. Fill to the outside, and the do the same on the opposite side!
Sprinkle your toppings on carefully or just dip the ends of each cannoli into your desired garnish. Top with powdered sugar. I like to bring over a platter of the shells and flat bowls filling with the three toppings. Then, I fill each cannoli tableside, immediately before eating, and dip the cannoli in the toppings as I munch! Again, you want to fill your cannoli as close to the time you'll be eating them as possible. However, if you must, you can fill them up to three hours prior to serving, without losing too much crunch.