How to Make Cannoli Cones
Let’s Cannoli!!! I had another post lined up for today but as soon as I saw this super fun idea of Puff Pastry Cannoli Cones from Pepperidge Farm, I knew I had to share ASAP for Easter because who doesn’t love Cannoli?! AKA tube shaped crispy fried pastry shells stuffed with sweet ricotta cream filling? Cannoli is probably one of our most popular Italian dessert recipes of all time. In Italy they are called Cannoli Siciliani. The singular, cannolo actually means “little tube” in the Sicilian language. And in my language, they mean YUM. Although cannoli is a beloved dessert by many, there are few (myself included) who own the right kitchen equipment (cannoli metal tubes) or patience (definitely me) for the labor intensive process of mixing the dough, rolling out perfect disk-shaped pieces, painstakingly wrapping the dough around the tubes, frying each one. I am exhausted just typing that. Instead, these buttery, flaky Puff Pastry Cannoli Cones make preparing “Cannoli” accessible to everyone! They are a wonderfully simple alternative to devour our traditional cannoli filling because after all, non-traditional cannoli are a whole lot more delicious than no cannoli. And they are a LOT delicious. period. To make these mega simple Puff Pastry Cannoli Cones, we first wrap sugar cones in aluminum foil, tucking any excess foil into the top then spray with nonstick cooking spray. These will be our molds. Next, we unfold our pastry sheet and cut it into 3 rectangles along the fold marks then proceed to cut each rectangle lengthwise into 4 strips, making 12 strips total. We will use two strips per cone. Starting at the pointed end, wrap 1 strip around the cone, overlapping the edges slightly then brush the end with the egg wash then firmly press the end of another strip to join and continue wrapping. Repeat with the remaining pastry and cones. It sounds more complicated than it is, but really takes less than 2 minutes per cone – SO easy! Finally, brush the wrapped pastry cones with the egg wash and bake for 15 minutes. After they have cooled, carefully remove the pastry cones from the foil cones. They should slip out quite easily after you loosen any dough from around the cone opening. I like to dip the edges in melted chocolate and crushed pistachios afterwards (directions included), but the possibilities are virtually endless! The Sicilian cannoli are often trimmed laterally and covered with candied cherries, orange peels or chopped pistachios. This traditional cannoli filling recipe is slightly adapted from Italian American Chef Buddy Vlasatro and is delicious in its simplicity with just ricotta, superfine sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and mini chocolate chips but feel free to blend in other popular cannoli filling components such as orange zest, nuts, nutmeg, pistachios, candied fruit/orange peel, cherries, chocolate etc. Although simple there are a few tips and tricks for Cannoli success:
You MUST DRAIN the ricotta cheese or your filling will be soupy and your shells soggy. Its super easy to do, but you have to factor the time into your prep. To drain, place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl. Add ricotta to sieve and top with plastic wrap or parchment paper then place something quite heavy on top to press the liquid out (I use a Costco size jar of pickles). Let drain at least 2 hours. (May drain longer in the refrigerator).You need to use SUPERFINE SUGAR or your filling will taste grainy. I make my own superfine sugar by adding it to my food processor, covering with a kitchen towel (as it creates quite a bit of “sugar dust”) and blending 1-2 minutes. Now you have powdery superfine sugar! Let the sugar settle 10 seconds or so then remove the lid and add your sugar to a mixing bowl along with ricotta, vanilla and cinnamon.
DON’T OVERMIX your filling or it will become soft/runny. Using the paddle attachment, beat on low to medium speed just until the sugar is completely dissolved, approximately 1-2 minutes. The best way to tell if it’s dissolved is to taste the mixture until you don’t detect any graininess. Add mini chocolate chips and beat just until evenly distributed.REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT in an airtight container. Again, easy to do, but you need to plan for. Refrigerating your filling overnight makes all the difference in the world to let the flavors develop. I tasted the filling the day of and thought it was “okay” and then the next day I couldn’t stop devouring it. World of difference.Fill your shells WHEN READY TO SERVE, or no more than an hour beforehand. This ensures your shells stay nice and crispy. You can have all the components ready to go – ricotta filling in the fridge, shells in an airtight container – so assembling is still super quick and easy.
Now let’s cannoli with our buttery, flaky, crispy shell bursting with dreamy, creamy, sweet ricotta filling sprinkled with mini chocolate chips! A simplified taste of Sicily.
Looking for more dessert recipes?
Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter PiesLayered Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese FrostingGerman Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache FillingToffee Pecan Caramel Pound CakeStrawberry Cheesecake PieSalted Caramel Milk Chocolate Cake
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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com Cannoli Cones from Pepperidge Farm with filling slightly adapted from Chef Buddy Vlasatro Tag @CarlsbadCravings and Use #CarlsbadCravngs Leave a Review, I Always Love Hearing From You! Carlsbad Cravings© Original
