italian dessert recipes


Cannoli Recipes





cannoli recipes 01 Cannoli recipes consists of two parts:

  • The crispy fried shell


  • The creamy filling - click here for the Cannoli Filling Recipes


    • Cannoli is one of the most popular Italian dessert recipes. In Italy they are called Cannoli Siciliani. And every now and then I've seen American bakeries label them "cream horns."


    Whatever you want to call them here's what they are...

    Cannoli is a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough that is filled with a sweet creamy filling usually containing ricotta cheese (or sweetened mascarpone) and blended with:

  • vanilla


  • chocolate


  • pistachio


  • candied citrus peel


  • cherries


  • Marsala wine


  • rosewater (or other flavorings)


    • Cannoli Filling Recipes



    Cannoli filling recipes use cheese and sugar for the main ingredients. There are two opposing sides as to which cheese is the best to use - mascarpone or ricotta. I posted BOTH cannoli filling recipes on that page. You pick one - or try both. Click here to see the recipes: Cannoli filling recipes.

    Cannoli shells



    cannoli shells
    With four kids still at home I opt for the easier way to do things and still make authentic cannoli recipes - I buy my cannoli shells! *Gasp* I know! But let's get past that. Here's where you can get cannoli shells at:

  • Grocery stores - usually the stores with an International section.


  • Bakeries - some will sell them to you. Be polite and ask nicely. The worse thing they can say is, "no!"


  • Restaurants. Restaurants that make their one cannoli filling usually buy the shells is bulk.


    Cannoli Shell Recipe

    The shell is a dough made of:

  • flour


  • butter


  • sugar


  • and a few other ingredients


    • They are formed in an oblong oval then wrapped around a dough ring and fried. Yeah, sounds fun! An everyday cooking experience in my house with four kids running around. If you really want to know how to make them and truly plan on doing it; You either have more time on your hands than I or love the smell of deep fat frying odors permeating through your house and lingering in the carpet for months.

    Does size matter?

    cannoli recipes 02 Yes. In this case it does. The cannoli shells are always the same shape and usually small or large:

  • The "cannulicchi" is no bigger than a finger.


  • The standard bakery size is 6-8 inches long about 2-3 inches in diameter.


  • Some recipes call for the shells dipped in chocolate.




    • So, if you wish to attempt making them - just know they need to be used fairly soon they loose their crispy texture pretty quick.

    If you wanna give it a go, YOU can make them with this recipe:

    Link to cannoli shells coming Dec 2009

    Back to the top of Cannoli Recipes



    lisa gianotti I love sugar and I eat dessert EVERYDAY! Ok, not MASSIVE amounts. But I do have to finish off the evening meal with a little sweet something.

    When I was a kid my health conscience mother would ration my Halloween candy. Her mantra was, "white sugar will kill you". But my Italian grandma always told me, "Everybody needs a little bit of sugar." :-) So, to get my October Halloween sugar fix I will make the traditional Italian cookie recipe, Venetian Bones of the Dead. Italians make these for the Day of the Dead on November 2nd. So - hey, our holiday in America - Halloween is the closest.

    So - while the neighborhood is slamming down a bunch of gross mass produced candy on October 31st, I'll have a real goodie. Oh yeah, I'll have to post it too! (Eventually!) You know how it is. Work. Kids. Clean. Cook.



    I'll see if Bones Of The Dead is in my grandma's first recipe file she started when she married in 1932. Most of the recipes on my site came from her influence. If they aren't in her file - then I got them from her friends. And the remainder I experimented with adapting her style.

    I hope she looks down and smiles this Halloween.

    Lisa


    Would you like to share this page? You know how to do it! Thanks for sharing the sugar love!




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    Recipes on this site are from family cookbooks, family traditions, or intentional adaptations from traditional recipes to add an Italian flair. If a recipe was adapted or used from another cook - it is mentioned on the recipe page and the recipe author is given credit.