  This is one of my most favorite childhood desserts;
cannolis. This Italian pastry is very popular in New York bakeries. I remember
as a child growing up on Long Island seeing these delicious confections laid out in the
cooled glass Cream Puff bakery cases. The ends were sprinkled with lime green or
multicolored sprinkles. They were incredibly good.
 This recipe makes 18 cannolis. You'll need to purchase the
cannoli tubes, they are available at any kitchen supply store. The dessert
filling requires constant refrigeration. To keep the pastry crisp only fill the
pastry shells right before serving.
I hope you love these as much as I do !!
What you need:
Filling
Pastry
- 3 cups Flour
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 3 tablespoons Shortening
- 2 Eggs -- well beaten
- 2 tablespoons White vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Cold water
- 2 ounces Pistachio nuts
- 1 Egg white -- slightly beaten
What you do:
- For filling:
Combine and beat until smooth (about 10 minutes with an electric mixer at
medium-high speed). Stir in, mixing thoroughly, citron and chocolate
pieces. Place mixture in refrigerator to chill.
- For pastry shells:
Sift together first 4 ingredients into a bowl. Cut shortening in with a pastry
blender until pieces are size of small peas. Stir in eggs. Blend in, a tablespoon at a
time, the vinegar and cold water. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead
until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes. Use a small amount of additional flour if
necessary to get a smooth dough. Wrap in waxed paper and chill in refrigerator for 30
minutes.
 Set out six aluminum cannoli
tubes (6 inches long, about 3/4-inch diameter). Set out deep saucepan or automatic
deep-fryer. Add vegetable oil (or half vegetable oil and half olive oil) and heat to 360
F. Cut an oval shaped pattern from cardboard (about 6 x 4 1/2 inches). Blanche pistachios
in boiling water, then cool and finely chop pistachios. Roll chilled dough on a lightly
floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with a pastry cutter and using the oval
pattern. Wrap dough loosely around tubes slightly overlapping opposite edges. Seal edges
by brushing with egg white. press edges together to seal.- Fry only as many shells as will float uncrowded one layer
deep in the hot oil. Fry about 8 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally
in the oil. Drain over the pan before removing to paper toweling. Cool slightly and
remove tubes, then cool completely. Continue forming and frying cannoli shells.
- When ready to serve, fill with the chilled ricotta filling.
Sprinkle ends with the chopped nuts and dust with confectioners' sugar.
Comments
Make sure you dry
the ricotta...
From: Sue
 I use to love when holiday's would come, when family members would get together
and make all kind of pastry, knotts and brescotti and everyone's favorite cannolis.
fillings would be from candied fruit to chocolate chips and sprinkles. But I do know that
a couple days before they would put pounds of ricotta in a colandar
covered in fridge to drain dry. My Mom use to say the ricotta had to be dry before making
filling. That if ricotta was wet made for bad cannolis and would run out of pastry. So
yesterday I did the old fashion way and put cheese in colandar inverted in large bowl
covered with a dish towel and put in fridge to drain, because this weekend its my turn to
make cannolis for family. Can't wait. Just a little bit of heaven! Thanks for web site!
Be sure to use
confectionary sugar
From: Eleanor
One very important thing with the cannoli recipe is to make sure to use confectionary
powdered sugar. If you use regular granulated sugar the cannoli will be grainy.
Peg's Connoli
shells
From: Peg
of PA
Cannoli shells....... I made them for Christmas and some I made with custard flavored with
rum and some I made with ricotta cheese..The cheese you have to drain to get the water out
first. I fill them with a pastry bag or I just cut the tip off of a zip lock bag and
squeeze the cheese in both ends of cannoli shell.
Hope this helps you
Peg of PA
Donna's connoli
shells from her mom
From: Donna
This is my mom's recipe was wonderful
CANNOLI SHELLS
- Cream
- 3 T Shortening
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 T sugar
- Add
- 4 C flou
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- Stir into the dough
- 1 C wine (not sure what kind) OR 1/2 C water and 1/2 C
vinegar and juice from 1 orange
- Mix until dough is ready to roll
- Roll dough on floured surface very thin cut into 4"
circle wrap circle of dough around rods so edges meet seal with egg whites with tong's
drop into hot peanut oil 375 degrees
- fry until lite brown cook in 2 qt pan enough oil only to top
of shells.
- Be careful not to get burned.
- Lay rod on paper towel cool a bit and take off of rod.
- cool thoroughly keep in a cool dry place in open container
until ready to fill. makes about 80
- Mom had stainless steel rods to fry the shells on.
ENJOY!!!
Donna
Is
the filling too runny? Try my mom's recipe.
From: Donna
Regarding the cannoli filling I think the trick is that the ricotta cheese.
It has to be very dry here is what we could figure was my
mom's recipe for the filling
- 6 c milk
- 14 T Cornstarch
- 8 T sugar
- Scald 3 cups of the milk add cornstarch and sugar when well
dissolved add the other 3 cups of milk stir constantly on medium heat cook until thick,
taking care not to scorch the mixture cool until copletely cool then add the following to
cool mixture:
- 1 # dry ricotta cheese
- 6T sugar
- cream this until fluffy and then fold in
- 1 c shaved milk chocolate
- 1/2 C candied cherries or candied mixed fruit dip ends into
ground almonds
or pistachios and the other end into shaven chocolate
Loved sharing
this recipe!
From B.
J. from Denver, Colorado
Thank you for the Cannoli recipe. I am looking forward to sharing this with
my co-worker who is a native Italian and 15 years a U.S. citizen who is in search of a
good Cannoli recipe. One of our managers (who is an Italian American) just visited
his family in New Jersey and came back raving about the wonderful cannolis they enjoyed.
Thank you again for sharing. I am sure this will bring happiness and
excitement to my friend, Silvana.
Cyndee's Strufoli & Fiadone
This
is a great pair of Italian recipes from
Cyndee who offers this baked blend of honey
and nuts along with another zesty lemon
recipe. She says, "I have been making this for about 25 years. I love all kinds
of Italian food and make quite a lot of it.
I do not remember where I originally got this recipe from, all I know is that it is
a keeper and is one of my daughters favorites."
Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake
  This week's Dessert
of the Week, Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake, is brought to us from the famous chef Gregg
Gillespie the author of 1001 Chocolate treats. His Chocolate Cheesecake is delicious and
sure to be loved by everyone at your dinner table. |
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