Cannolis

It's Holy week and Easter might just be my favorite holiday of all. ✝️  It doesn't matter that my kids are adults now - the Easter bunny will always make a stop at our house to hide eggs and put together themed baskets.🐰  I think that the reason that I love Easter so much is because it's not about the baskets or the chocolate - it's about the reason for the holiday.   What better reason is there to celebrate than the resurrection of Jesus?  

Holidays are also great excuses to gather family and friends together for a big feast.  Whether it's brunch, lunch or dinner for 2 or 32 - Easter feasts are always special.  My family prefers the traditional Easter ham and my daughter can't seem to let the day pass without a plate of deviled eggs but I'm more of an Easter brunch kind of girl.  Waffles, chocolate croissants, fruit skewers and homemade sticky buns - you get the idea.  The kind of recipes that I only make on special occasions.  

Surely I'm not the only person who has a collection of recipes that they make exclusively for "company" or on special holidays.  My special occasion recipes land in this category for one of two reasons.  The first is because they take an excessively long time to make.  The second, and more common reason, is that they're foods that I don't feel like my family has given the appropriate amount of recognition to.😅 Do you think it's too much to ask that the recipient of a special recipe should "oooh and ahhh" for a minimum of 10 minutes after consuming something that takes over an hour to prepare? 😂  Cannolis ended up in my special food category for both reasons.🤣

Cannolis were always a special treat that our parents let us pick out from the bakery or the Italian grocery when we were kids and not something that we ever attempted to make at home.  If I'm being honest, I had some serious hesitations about tackling such an iconic Italian dessert but since I don't have access to a great cannoli source where I currently live, I had to figure out to make them for myself.😅  

Cannolis
Shells
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup marsala wine
1 egg
1 egg white
vegetable oil for frying

Filling
32 ounces whole milk ricotta
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
​1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor.  

Pulse in butter until crumbly.

Add marsala and whole egg.   Pulse until dough is soft and shaggy, adding more wine as necessary. 

Shape dough into a ball.  Place in an oiled bowl.  

Cover and let rest 30 minutes - 2 hours. 

Roll half of the dough out on floured counter to very thin.  

Heat oil to 345-355.

Use a 4" cookie cutter to cut rounds from dough.  

Spray cannoli forms with cooking spray.  Wrap circle around form.  Brush end with egg white to press edges together.  

Use tongs to immerse shell in oil.  Fry until golden brown.

Remove form from oil, using tongs.  Transfer to paper towels to drain. 

Slide shell off form using paper towel.  Repeat with remaining dough. 

Spread ricotta on paper towels.  Cover with additional paper towels and press out excess moisture by rolling. 

Stir together ricotta, powdered sugar, cinnamon and chocolate chips.
​  

Transfer filling to a piping bag.  

Pipe filling into shells and garnish with additional chocolate chips. 

Dip ends in chocolate if desired.  

I also experimented with an orange almond filling. 

Ciao!

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