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When we started new jobs, my husband’s workplace had a birthday tradition of whoever’s birthday was last, that person would bring in something to eat for the next person’s birthday. Well his colleague whose birthday fell after his loved cannolis! I love a good cannoli too, but generally reserve those to the professionals to make and me to consume! However, they are quite expensive to buy, and with 20 people in the office, it was going to be quite costly. I was determined to get this guy the cannoli he wanted though, so I set out to find a good recipe. The first year I made the shells by hand. It took forever! While I enjoy baking, it just seemed excessive. A lot of rolling, cutting them out, wrapping them around molds, and frying. And I never have enough oil to fry anything, so I tried baking them first, then using a little oil to brown up the edges. Well let’s just say that I got smarter…I now use pre-made shells and this super simple filling recipe! It only takes about 10 minutes to whip up the filling plus a little extra for filling time!
Ingredients
8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup powdered sugar + more for dusting
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips + more to melt and drizzle
2 – 6 pack of cannoli shells (or wait until they go on sale at your grocery store; last time I bought a pack for a ~$1.60)
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, ricotta, and powdered sugar. Mix on medium using a hand mixer for ~5 minutes, until smooth. Add in vanilla extract. Fold in mini chocolate chips with a regular spoon. Now fill your cannolis! For me, this takes the longest time as I do not have any fancy gadgets to fill the shells with. Once filled and plated, sprinkle some powdered sugar over the cannoli shells if desired. Melt some extra chocolate chips in the microwave in increments of 15 seconds. Stir until well blended. Drizzle over cannoli shells! Serve!
*Note:If you are making the filling ahead of time, store filling in the fridge covered until ready to fill the cannoli shells and serve. With pre-made cannoli shells, you can fill and store in the refrigerator for a couple of days before the shells get soft.
