I love living in South Carolina, but there is a severe lack of Italian bakeries around here! So I've learned that if I want good cannoli, you have to make them yourself! This traditional homemade cannoli recipe has crispy fried shell and is filled with a creamy whipped ricotta filling!
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What are Cannoli?
Cannoli are a traditional Italian pastry from of island of Sicily that have become super popular in Italian-American cuisine (specifically the Northeast US). Cannoli are tubes of deep fried dough filled with a slightly sweet, ricotta cheese filling.
In Italian, the singular is cannolo, and the plural is cannoli, but often in English people will say cannoli's for the plural.
Why This Recipe Works
I love cannoli because they aren't overly sweet (aka it's easy like 5 in one sitting).
The best thing about homemade cannoli is that they're super versatile, so you can have whatever flavor combo you want!
Flavor Variations
For these cannoli, I did a plain ricotta filling and just added different toppings on top. But the toppings are even better mixed in!
Some classic flavors are:
- Mini chocolate chips
- Chopped hazelnuts
- Chopped pistachios
- Cinnamon or pumpkin spice
- Candied fruit (candied orange peel is a popular choice)
- Espresso (add 1 tablespoon of espresso powder to the filling)
- Chocolate cannoli shell (add 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to the dough for the cannoli shells)
- Chocolate dipped cannoli shells
Ingredient Notes
Most of the ingredients you need to make cannoli are pantry staples you likely already have at home!
The two special ingredients you need are:
- Marsala wine - Cannoli dough is traditionally made with marsala, but you can substitute any dry white wine (like sherry).
- Whole milk ricotta cheese - The creamy ricotta filling is what makes cannoli so good! Whole milk ricotta has the best flavor and typically isn't as watery as skim varieties. But even whole milk ricotta needs to be strained so that you don't end up with soggy cannoli. You can also swap out the ricotta for mascarpone cheese!
How to Strain Ricotta
Since ricotta contains a lot of water, it needs to be strained before whipping. You'll need:
- Medium sized bowl
- Strainer
- Cheesecloth
Place a strainer over a bowl and then lay a cheesecloth inside the strainer. Gently spread the ricotta into an even layer. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator. Let the ricotta cheese strain overnight (at least 8-12 hours).
Special Tools
You need a few special tools to make cannoli at home!
How to Make Homemade Cannoli
The dough is super easy and comes together quickly in a food processor!
Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the food processor and pulse until just combined. Then add in the cold butter and pulse until you have small crumbles. You can also make the dough by hand the same way you would make pie crust.
Add the whole egg, egg yolk, and marsala and pulse until the dough comes together into a shaggy ball.
Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead for 2-4 minutes until you have a smooth ball. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and rest for 1 hour.
While the dough is resting, add about 2 inches of vegetable oil to a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until it reaches 350°F.
Roll out the dough as thin as possible (⅛th to 1/16th inch thick) and use a 4 inch cookie cutter to cut into rounds. For mini cannoli use a 2 inch cookie cutter.
Lightly brush the cannoli forms with vegetable oil and then wrap the cannoli dough around each form. Brush the edge where the ends meet with egg white and press gently to seal.
Fry the shells at 350°F for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown and crispy. Only fry 4-5 at a time so as not to crowd the pan.
Use tongs to transfer the cannoli to a paper towel to drain. Immediately remove the form from the cannoli (you can use the tongs and a paper towel to gently wiggle it off the form, just be careful!).
Let the forms cool fully and repeat the process with the remaining dough circles. Let the cannoli shells cool fully before filling.
While the cannoli are cooling, make the filling.
Stir your desired toppings into the ricotta filling and pipe into the cannoli shells.
Or leave the filling plain and let people choose their own toppings!
Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes! You can buy Cannoli shells at some specialty stores or online.
As soon as the cannoli are filled they will start to soften, so they're best eaten within 1-2 hours of filling. However, you can store the filling and shells separately to keep them fresh longer!
You can store fried cannoli shells in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Store in the filling in the fridge.
Yes!! I know it's an extra step, but it's what will keep your cannoli from getting soggy!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Recipes You Might Like
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Recipe Card
Homemade Cannoli
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cannoli
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup marsala wine
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk, set aside egg white for brushing
Filling
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese, strained
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the food processor and pulse until just combined. Then add in the cold butter and pulse until you have small crumbles. You can also make the dough by hand the same way you would make pie crust.
- Add the whole egg, egg yolk, and marsala and pulse until the dough comes together into a shaggy ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead for 2-4 minutes until you have a smooth ball. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and rest for 1 hour.
- While the dough is resting, add about 2 inches of vegetable oil to a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until it reaches 350°F.
- Roll out the dough as thin as possible (⅛th to 1/16th inch thick) and use a 4 inch cookie cutter to cut into rounds. For mini cannoli use a 2 inch cookie cutter.
- Lightly brush the cannoli forms with vegetable oil and then wrap the cannoli dough around each form. Brush the edge where the ends meet with egg white and press gently to seal.
- Fry the shells at 350°F for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown and crispy. Only fry 4-5 at a time so as not to crowd the pan.
- Use tongs to transfer the cannoli to a paper towel to drain. Immediately remove the form from the cannoli (you can use the tongs and a paper towel to gently wiggle it off the form, just be careful!).
- Let the forms cool fully and repeat the process with the remaining dough circles. Let the cannoli shells cool fully before filling.
- While the cannoli are cooling, make the filling.
- Add the strained ricotta, powdered sugar, and vanilla to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, whip the ricotta until it's fully combined and smooth. If desired, fold in chopped nuts or chocolate chips!
- When ready to use transfer to a piping bag, snip the tip off and fill the shells. Then press on desired toppings!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Hannah Semple says
Can I make without alcohol?
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes! It will change the flavor of the shells slightly, but you can just use water instead.
Layla says
These turned out so good! The shells were so crisp!
Julia says
Hi! Can I make the dough the night before and refrigerate it?
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes absolutely! But you’ll probably want to let it come up to room temp for 30 mins or so before trying to roll it out.
Tamara says
delicious and easy to make!