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Every year for Christmas I get pastries and biscotti from Del Prete pastry shop in Bridgeport. Everything there is great, but they make the best cannoli in Connecticut. So you can imagine my disappointment to find out they had a fire and are temporarily closed, so I need to get my cannoli for the holidays elsewhere. While I am sure I could find a pastry shop that has a decent cannoli, I took this opportunity to just try making them myself.

Cannoli are a classic Sicilian dessert, and there’s a reason they’ve become so beloved. That contrast between the crispy, delicate shell and the smooth, sweet ricotta filling is hard to beat. Making them at home might seem intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll see that it’s really not that difficult. And if you want to skip making the shells(the most time consuming part), you can always buy pre-made cannoli shells and just focus on the filling—you’ll still end up with something much better than what most bakeries are selling.

Here are 2 Important tips that will make a big difference in your cannoli:

Use confectioners sugar instead of granulated sugar in your filling. The powdered texture dissolves completely into the ricotta, giving you that smooth, creamy consistency without any grittiness.
Fill your Cannoli as close to serving time as possible. If filled too far ahead of time the shell will become soggy and nobody likes a soggy cannoli.

Homemade Sicilian Cannoli Recipe

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Author: Phil Torre
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: Makes 16 cannoli 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

Shells:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
3/4 cup Marsala wine
egg white2 quarts
vegetable oil for frying

Filling:

1 pound Ricotta cheese, preferably whole milk
3/4 cup of confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips
extra confectioners sugar for dusting

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Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. Add the melted butter and marsala wine. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until well mixed.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
Roll out the dough until very thin. Using a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut dough into 4-inch rounds, and roll again until very thin.
Roll each piece tightly around a cannoli tube. Seal with egg white.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep 3.5 quart pot to 350 degrees.
Place the dough forms in the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Place on paper towels to drain.
Cool and gently twist tube to remove shell from form.
In a large mixing bowl whip sugar, vanilla and ricotta together until smooth, then stir in the chocolate chips.
Spoon filling into a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe the ricotta cream into the pastry shells, dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 15