Cannoli

*Insert Godfather joke here* Did you get it out of your system? I completely understand. Anyway, it’s time for cannoli, y’all! Also, did you know that cannoli actually is the plural. The singular form is cannolo. It’s an irregular plural. So, no cannolis. Did I mention I’m a language teacher, and I can’t help myself? Now you’ll go to parties and be like, “Did you know that the singular form of cannoli is cannolo?” and you’ll either be shunned or applauded. I can’t guarantee results.

Anyway, I digress. This was a much faster process than I thought it’d be. My only complaint was that I didn’t roll out my dough thin enough, but that can be remedied pretty easily. I used this recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/homemade-cannoli-3408894?soc=sharepin

Can I also just add that this recipe requires you to have cannoli molds. I’m sure there are other options, but I went ahead and bought some. For all of my challenges, the only two things I had to buy were the cream horn molds and these, so not too bad. You can get them on amazon pretty cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Stainless-Cannoli-Inches-Diagonal/dp/B076P3ZKC9/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546190034&sr=8-3&keywords=cannoli+molds  

For the Shells:

2 c all-purpose flour

2 tbsp granulated sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes

½ c dry Marsala or white wine *I used Chardonnay because I had an open bottle in my fridge. Marsala is the traditional, so I’d like to try that next time.

Vegetable oil, for frying

1. Pulse flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until thoroughly combined. Add egg yolk and Marsala wine and process until the dough forms a ball.

2. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

3. Fill a large, wide pot with two inches of oil and heat over medium-high heat to 350F. *Again, I used my Dutch oven; it's my frying vessel of choice.

4. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough into a thin circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out as many circles as possible with a 3 ½ to 4 inch round cookie cutter. Gather the scraps, roll out again, and cut more. *I didn’t have a cookie cutter that size, so I ended up using the top of my coffee container. Totally works. **Also, make sure that once you start to see the dough shrinking on itself, stop cutting. The dough is being worked too much. I got 12 circles out of my dough. ***Sorry, so many side notes. I think my dough was still too thick. It wasn't as delicate as I had hoped after fried (although still delicious). I have seen people put their dough through a pasta sheeter, so if you have one of those, I would do that to get it to a thinner consistency.

5. Wrap a circle of dough around a cannoli tube. Lightly moisten an edge with water and press the edges together very firmly to seal. *I had two that popped open in the fryer; still delicious, but more like a tostada than a cannoli.

6. Place paper towels on a baking sheet.  

7. Fry the tubes with the dough, turning once until the shells are golden brown all over, about 4 to 5 minutes.

8. Carefully remove the tubes from the oil and slip off the cannoli shell onto the paper towels.

If you have more dough than tubes, let the tubes cool slightly before continuing to wrap dough and fry.

9. Let the shells cool completely.

For the Filling:

2 ½ c ricotta cheese

¾ c powdered sugar, plus more for dusting

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp finely grated orange zest *I fucking forgot to buy an orange. I had a grapefruit, so I zested that. Traditional? No. Totally delicious still? Surprisingly, yes.

1/3 c shaved bittersweet chocolate *I used bittersweet mini chocolate chips.

1. Mix ricotta, powdered sugar, orange (or grapefruit) zest, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the chocolate. *Check the sugar level before you add chocolate chips. I added a bit more powdered sugar than it called for, so just check for taste.

*The recipe doesn’t call for this, but I also melted some chocolate and dipped my edges of shell in chocolate. Let chocolate dry completely before filling.

2. Fill a pastry bag with ricotta mixture. Hold a cannoli shell in one hand; with the other, insert the pastry tip into the center of the shell and fill one side. Flip to the other side, and fill again.

3. Dust filled cannoli with powdered sugar. Serve filled shells immediately. If you aren’t going to serve immediately, store shells at room temperature and filling in the fridge. Fill just before serving.

Rating (Scale 1 to 5):

Difficulty: 1
Amount of Time: 1
Awesomeness: 4