Now you can make this Italian dessert at home and they really are not difficult to make. You'll love the flaky shell, decadent ricotta filling and the powdered sugar and chocolate chip garnish that makes them truly special.
Shell:
4 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. salt
3 T. softened butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 t. cinnamon
3/4 c. sweet Marsala wine
shortening, for frying
Filling:
4 c. whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1/3 c. finely chopped maraschino cherries
1/4 c. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
Garnish:
powdered sugar, maraschino cherries and/or chocolate chips, if desired
Mix all shell ingredients except for the wine in a bowl with a pastry cutter until crumbly and butter and egg yolks are thoroughly mixed. Add in the wine 1 oz. at a time, until able to mix it with your hands. Form mixture into a ball; allow to sit uncovered for about 30 minutes.
If you don’t have metal cannoli tubes, make your own while waiting for the dough to be ready. For each tube, cut a 12×12 inch sheet of aluminum foil. Fold the sheet in half; wrap it tightly around a dowel about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, allowing the foil to overlap on the dowel about 3 times to strengthen it. Slide it off the dowel. Repeat process.
Once dough is ready, roll it out until it’s almost paper thin, on a well-floured surface. Using the rim of a margarita glass (about 3-4 inches across), make circle imprints into the rolled dough. With a sharp paring knife, make sure circles are cut all the way through. Roll each circle of dough around a cannoli tube, overlapping the ends and pressing to seal, flaring out the edges slightly.
Fry 1-2 at a time in hot melted shortening (about 360 degrees) for approximately 1 minute, turning to brown all sides. Remove from hot grease; drain on paper towels, seam side down. Let cool 1-2 minutes before trying to remove metal tube.
To remove the tube, hold cannoli shell down on the paper towel and carefully slide the tube out of one end. Leave cannoil shells on the paper towel, seam side down to cool completely.
Filling:
Combine ricotta cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Before adding the cherries, squeeze them with paper towels to remove all liquid or the filling will turn pink and watery. Add the cherries and chocolate chips to the mixture, making sure not to over mix.
Chill filling for 30 minutes.
Pipe into cooled cannoli shells.
Garnish with powdered sugar, chocolate chips and/or chopped Maraschino cherries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.