Cannoli Recipes

This cannoli recipes page is the top viewed page on my site. Thank you all for pinning, cooking, "sharing", and loving the joy sugar brings!

Cannoli recipes look fancy and frilly - but really they consist of just two parts:

The crispy fried shell

The creamy filling (click here to skip to the Cannoli Filling Recipes.)

I put two cannoli filling recipes for you to choose from. To be safe, I'd say the total prep time is about 60 minutes. And on that page you can see a shortcut I take if I need to get them ready quick.

Cannoli is probably is one of our 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 'em, that's fine. Cannoli recipes all start out with empty shells. The shells began their life else where - first as dough, then they got deep fried. And now they made it to your pantry. Once you get the shells then they are ready to be filled.

The filling is usually made with ricotta cheese or sweetened mascarpone. You can stop there and pipe it the shell - OR - you can blend in:

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 the filling page. You pick one - or try both.

Cannoli Shells

I opt for the easier way to do things. And I buy my shells. Why? Because you can still get an authentic cannoli without stinking up your house frying shells or possibly lighting your curtains on fire. (Can you tell I HATE to fry ANYTHING!) So here's some shell shopping ideas - places to look:

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

If you can't stand the thought of store bought - and you are the curious type. Here's what the shell is made of:

flour

butter

sugar

and a few other ingredients

You take the dough. Form it into an oblong oval shape. Then wrap around a ring specifically made for cannoli frying. You can find those in the more fancy-pants cooking stores.

If you really want to know how to make them and truly plan on doing it. I've found several blogs that walk you through it.

Does Size Matter?

Yes. In this case it does. Cannoli shells are always the same shape and usually either 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,nuts, dried fruit that's diced....

One thing to know they need to be used fairly soon they loose their crispy texture pretty quick.

So, that's enough to get your curious and get you started, right? Thanks for stopping by -