Cannoli

[klmama]

How have I never seen this before????  I just came across photos.  Is it as delicious as it looks?

[MrsMommy]

It is! My family loves them, but they are kind of a pain to make.

[prairiewindmomma]

I bought a cannoli with orange and pistachio in the ricotta yesterday. Delicious!

[cuckoomamma]

There are plenty of bad versions out there, but a good cannoli is amazing!

[Storygirl]

I don't care for cannoli; it's the ricotta filling. Even though I love ricotta in pasta dishes, I don't care for it in pastry.

[KungFuPanda]

 Costco has a kit 😬 Its good. It’s a problem. If you’re lucky your local baker will have them. I’ve also seen them at Wegmans. For birthdays, my kids always request a cake that has a cannoli filling. 

[Spy Car]

"Leave the gun, take the cannoli"

Clemenza 

[Arcadia]

My husband tried one while on a business trip to the east coast with his colleagues. He took photos and they look pretty but he said the taste was underwhelming. We saw cannolis at bakeries here but they were expensive even pre-pandemic so we never tried.

[Starr]

We love them from the bakery.

[Amethyst]

We make our own shells. I know many people who don’t care for cannolis but love ours. The kits (and even bakery bought ones) have thick heavy shells. Ours are thinner and lighter and fabulous, if I do say so myself. Yes, they are quite a chore to make. We generally only do them at Christmas time and make tons. But sooo worth the effort. 

[marbel]

Not a fan here, but the rest of my family loves them. 

[WildflowerMom]

6 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

 Costco has a kit 😬 Its good. It’s a problem. If you’re lucky your local baker will have them. I’ve also seen them at Wegmans. For birthdays, my kids always request a cake that has a cannoli filling. 

Oh, this is sooooooo good.  Highly recommend to get a cake made with this!   10/10

[WildflowerMom]

Have you ever had a cream horn or French horn?    😋😋😋

[Carrie12345]

They’re hit or miss for me. I won’t make them because of the insane amount of work. Store bought are usually disappointing, but most Italian bakeries and restaurants know what they’re doing, but I’m not driving 45 min for a cannoli, lol. 

[73349]

It's really the filling that I like. Quite good.

[KungFuPanda]

Sometimes I make the filling and serve it like a dip with pizzelle. It satisfies the craving without dealing with keeping the shells crispy. 

[kristin0713]

You've never heard of a cannoli? Where do you live? It's my favorite dessert. 

[Junie]

2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Sometimes I make the filling and serve it like a dip with pizzelle. It satisfies the craving without dealing with keeping the shells crispy. 

Oh, this is a great idea!!  I'm gluten free and haven't been able to find gluten free cannoli -- but this is something that I think I can find.  Thank you. :)

[klmama]

1 hour ago, kristin0713 said:

You've never heard of a cannoli? Where do you live? It's my favorite dessert. 

I knew it was Italian food, but I didn't know what it was and had never seen one.  

[Carol in Cal.]

It is absolutely outstanding.

[Spy Car]

3 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Sometimes I make the filling and serve it like a dip with pizzelle. It satisfies the craving without dealing with keeping the shells crispy. 

I adore pizzelle--so Mrs Spy Car gave me a gift of pizzelle press years ago--and if I shape freshly made pizzelle around a dowel-like object while they are still warm, they harden into a very acceptable substitute for deep-fried cannoli shells.

Far from an original idea on my part. A very popular substitution.

So much less hassle than "real" cannoli shells. I like them just as much.

Bill (who will at times "cheat" tradition)

ETA: adding internet picture:

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by Spy Car

[Lady Florida.]

Well I grew up in an Italian American family so...😂

'

They were our typical dessert after a large holiday meal.

[dsmith]

Cannoli filling is one of my favorite things! I worked at a bakery in my younger years, and there was always a huge mixing bowl full of cannoli filling in the walk-in fridge. Sometimes I'd fill a small paper coffee cup with the filling and munch away. They should always be filled fresh! I love the chocolate dipped shells, but as long as they are crispy I'll take either one. Ok, now I want a cannoli.☺️

[WildflowerMom]

1 hour ago, kristin0713 said:

You've never heard of a cannoli? Where do you live? It's my favorite dessert. 

You really missed an opportunity to say, "HOLY CANNOLI!  Where do you live?!?"

[happi duck]

Yum!!

As a kid I found my first bite of cannoli surprising because, to me, they look way sweeter than they actually are.  

Eta: They are perfect the way they are!  I was just surprised *as a small child* 

We are spoiled because we have an awesome Italian bakery nearby!

Edited February 14, 2023 by happi duck

[pinball]

Easy peasy way is to serve the filling in sugar cones

Or make the filling, break up sugar cones and use as dippers

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, happi duck said:

Yum!!

As a kid I found my first bite of cannoli surprising because, to me, they look way sweeter than they actually are.  

They don’t have to be, though. The one I had from the food truck this weekend was Euro-level sweet….not savory, but not anything an American would call sweet. 

[happi duck]

32 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

They don’t have to be, though. The one I had from the food truck this weekend was Euro-level sweet….not savory, but not anything an American would call sweet. 

I had a typo I think.  I was trying to say that they are *not* super sweet.

As a kid I expected frosting sweet so that first bite was a surprise.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

1 minute ago, happi duck said:

I had a typo I think.  I was trying to say that they are *not* super sweet.

As a kid I expected frosting sweet so that first bite was a surprise.

 

If you like them super sweet, add more powdered sugar to the cream mixture. 🙂 

[KungFuPanda]

9 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I adore pizzelle--so Mrs Spy Car gave me a gift of pizzelle press years ago--and if I shape freshly made pizzelle around a dowel-like object while they are still warm, they harden into a very acceptable substitute for deep-fried cannoli shells.

Far from an original idea on my part. A very popular substitution.

So much less hassle than "real" cannoli shells. I like them just as much.

Bill (who will at times "cheat" tradition)

ETA: adding internet picture:

 

I have a pizzelle press that I’ve never used and keep forgetting I own. 🤣

[KungFuPanda]

10 hours ago, Junie said:

Oh, this is a great idea!!  I'm gluten free and haven't been able to find gluten free cannoli -- but this is something that I think I can find.  Thank you. 🙂

Just use a spoon. Nobody can stop you. 😆

[Junie]

11 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Just use a spoon. Nobody can stop you. 😆

True, but I like the two different textures. :)

 

[Spy Car]

20 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I have a pizzelle press that I’ve never used and keep forgetting I own. 🤣

Here is my feeling about using pizzelle as cannoli shells.

If you compare them to the very best cannoli, fresh and made by a master, with the "bubbles" around the exterior and cooked just right. Then "real" cannoli shells win. No contest. Apex.

But compared with commercial ones that are not made by gods, the race tightens. I'd take a fresh pizzelle cannoli over a cannoli shell that had been sitting for awhile prior to being stuffed. And is it was "stuffed" for too long, not so good either.

And compared to ones fried at home (leaving out the huge hassle and unless one is a "master") pizzelle wins. Unless one is really good or really lucky. And then the amount of time and the hassle of deep-frying that's avoided, and no contest. Makes it so easy. 

You know how well they work as "dips." Just fold then over a broomstick or something like that. They harden quickly.

I know you will approve.

I still like to add anise to the pizzelle (because that's my favorite part), so my "cannoli" are a bit of a hybrid.

I'm making a note to self to make some pizzelle cannoli when my son comes home on Spring break. 

Bill

 

[Spy Car]

So I started daydreaming about Cannoli--only it is now the beginning of "nighttime"--anyway "daydreaming" about Cannoli and I'm one of those people who likes his "sweets" to be "Euro-sweet" or less.

I'm mentally imagining the taste of a perfect cannoli in my mind, and it is planted there--almost like I'm actually tasting it--when all of a sudden the taste of sour cherries, as in Greek sour cherry preserves comes into my mind from out of nowhere, and it is so pleasurable that the saliva flows.

That doesn't happen very often.

I think I better run with that idea 

Bill

Edited February 15, 2023 by Spy Car
Because preserves and "jam" are not the same thing, and I know that

[Junie]

27 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

 

I still like to add anise to the pizzelle (because that's my favorite part), so my "cannoli" are a bit of a hybrid.

 

 

So something like this might work for me?

 

[kristin0713]

8 hours ago, pinball said:

Easy peasy way is to serve the filling in sugar cones

Or make the filling, break up sugar cones and use as dippers

No. Just…no. This is pure desecration of a cannoli. 

Find a quality Italian bakery…says the Jersey Girl 

[Spy Car]

5 minutes ago, Junie said:

So something like this might work for me?

 

Except you could not fold those, as they have "hardened" and would crack if you tried to bend them.

You could use the cannoli filling as a "smear," or use them for a "dip" as @KungFuPanda does, then you would be all the essentials, in a slightly different form.

I could see pizzelle cannoli "smears" become a thing. Why not?

Bill

[katilac]

 I'm not a fan. 

I really like cheese, but not in my dessert. 

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

8 minutes ago, katilac said:

 I'm not a fan. 

I really like cheese, but not in my dessert. 

 

 

I’m pretty sure this blasphemy is against the rules. The moderators are gonna come after you. 

[Spy Car]

One more nice option if one uses a pizzelle maker for the shells, is that if the ratio of cheese filling to shell is a bit much, one can roll the  pizzelle a little tighter. 

Bill