Description

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.

Ingredients

• 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

Steps

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.