Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Breakfast Breads & Pastries Pastries Cannoli 4.5 (2) 2 Reviews Crisp and flaky pastry dough is shaped into a tube and filled with rich citrus-scented ricotta-mascarpone filling. By Anna Theoktisto Anna Theoktisto Anna Theoktisto is a recipe tester and developer. Anna has been working in Dotdash Meredith test kitchens since 2017, and her recipes and writing have appeared in over 10 nationally distributed print publications, as well as on various digital platforms. When not in the kitchen, Anna enjoys hiking with her son, husband, and two dogs, and fostering puppies for a local animal rescue group. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 20, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Servings: 8 servings Yield: 14 to 16 cannoli Cannoli, a crisp and creamy Italian dessert with origins in Sicily, is made of pastry dough that has been molded into a tube and fried until crispy. The fried pastry is filled with orange-scented mascarpone and ricotta cheese filling and then dipped in chopped chocolate or pistachio. The butter-based dough easily comes together in a food processor and is infused with Marsala wine and cinnamon which gives the flavor profile warm spicy notes. Most of the effort in this recipe is done in creating the cannoli shell. After portioning the dough, you’ll wrap each piece of dough around a stainless steel cannoli mold. A cannoli mold is about 5 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Wrap the dough around the mold and fry the pastry. The stainless steel can withstand the heat and will fry the pastry into perfect tubes. Use a hard oil like refined coconut oil or lard, to ensure the pastry stays crisp for several days. Using a regular fry oil like vegetable or canola oil means that the pastry won’t stay crisp for as long. Orange zest is incorporated into rich mascarpone-ricotta filling. Use a stand mixer to beat the mascarpone for the best results. Fills the pastry shells with the creamy filling then dip the edges in chopped chocolate or pistachio for a decorative appearance and textural upgrade. Ingredients Dough 1 1/2 cups (about 6 1/3 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface and dough 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 tablespoons cold water 3 tablespoons Marsala 1 large egg white, beaten Refined coconut oil (four 14-ounce jars) or lard Cooking spray Filling 8 3/4 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese, drained (1 cup) 1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese 3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) powdered sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh orange zest (from 1 orange) 1/2 (4 ounces) (70% cacao) bittersweet chocolate bar, chopped (1/3 cup) 1/4 cup finely chopped salted roasted pistachios Directions Prepare the Dough: Pulse flour, butter, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor until butter is completely incorporated into flour, about 10 pulses. Add water and Marsala, and process until dough forms a soft, tacky ball, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a lightly greased medium bowl; cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour or in refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Remove dough from bowl, and place on a heavily floured work surface. Sprinkle dough generously with flour, and roll to 1/16-inch thickness, about a 14 inch circle. Brush excess flour from surface of dough, and brush evenly with egg white (do not discard leftover egg white). Fold dough in half and dust with additional flour; roll to 1/16-inch thickness. Cut out as many 4-inch rounds as you can from dough. Reroll scraps up to 3 more times (14 to 16 rounds total). Heat coconut oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high until a thermometer registers 360°F. Lightly coat cannoli forms with cooking spray. Wrap dough rounds around greased forms, and dab dough with remaining egg white where rounds overlap; seal dough, being careful not to get egg white on cannoli forms. Line a large baking sheet using paper towels. Working in 4 batches, slowly lower prepared cannoli forms into hot oil, and cook until blistered and browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer cooked cannoli shells to prepared baking sheet. While cannoli shells are still hot, hold each cannoli shell using tongs, and tap tapered end of cannoli form on a work surface until cannoli shell slides free. Remove form, and let cool before wrapping with additional dough. Let shells cool until room temperature, about 30 minutes. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Prepare the Filling: Beat ricotta and mascarpone with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on high speed until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and orange zest, and beat on high speed until thickened, about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Transfer to a piping bag or ziplock plastic bag; snip off end, and pipe a heaping 2-tablespoons filling into each cannoli shell. Dip each exposed end of shells into either chopped chocolate or chopped pistachios. Serve immediately. Rate It Print