so easy, yummy cannoli dip
One of my January 2019 recipes for Beyond Celiac (formerly National Foundation for Celiac Awareness).
For any party, BBQ’s, Friday night football, Super Bowl.
I saw Erin Fehlau, one of the news anchors on NH’s ABC WMUR TV make this over Christmas with her kids. It reminded me that years ago I had been given a handwritten recipe of how to make cannoli shells and the filling. In wheat flour days in my classes, we would bake strips of puff pastry with sliced almonds on top, fill them with the cannoli filling, dust with powdered sugar and call them cannoli napoleons. Very popular, easy and expensive looking. In fact at one party a student went to, guests refused to eat them as they thought they were shop bought until Diane said she had made them.
This is the recipe I was given. It’s very similar to Erin’s and others but this has orange zest and orange liqueur or rum added.
Totally vanished at after Christmas party and everyone requested the recipe.
1 lb whole milk Ricotta cheese – drained if very wet (Put ricotta cheese in fine sieve, appropriate size plate on top, weigh down with 2lb can of tomatoes, refrigerate and leave to drain into a bowl. You’ll be surprised at how much liquid drains off). I use Galbani, I can’t get almost any liquid to drain off. But mix is still quite runny with any ricotta. Still disappears.
½ lb soft cream cheese or even mascarpone for richer flavor
2 tablespoons rum or orange liqueur or orange juice concentrate thawed for non alcohol version.
1+1/2 – 1+ 2/3 c powdered sugar – start with less sugar and you can always add more.
2 teaspoons gf vanilla extract
grated zest of one orange
½ c mini semi sweet chocolate morsels
½ c toasted chopped almonds or chopped pistachios (remember many cannolis are dipped in chocolate on ends and then in chopped pistachios.
1. Mix ricotta cheese and cream cheese with electric mixer until very smooth. Then add liqueur, sugar, vanilla, orange and preferably refrigerate for several hours to allow flavors to mix and mellow. Adjust amount of sugar, Grand Marnier etc to personal taste. I prefer to make in advance and refrigerate and only add chocolate chips and nuts just before serving so they stay crispy.
2. Serve with Blue Diamond honey and cinnamon nut thins, or any gf versions of waffle cones, sugar ice cream cones, vanilla wafers, cannoli chips, pizzelles, shortbread cookies. Use as a dip for a fruit tray. Spoon into mini chocolate shells, use as a filling for crèpes, freeze and serve as an ice cream or as ice cream sandwiches between chocolate chip cookies or shortbreads, use to fill a cake, with fresh strawberries and other fruit.
3. You can put ricotta cheese in food processor to make it very smooth, but also thinner.
4. If too thin, sprinkle a tablespoon of instant vanilla jello pudding on top to help thicken.
Sprinkled with more mini chocolate morsels and homemade candied orange peel.
I filled two layers of my almond cake with cannoli filling (not all) and topped with chocolate ganache.
Reminder for gluten free safety -only serve with gluten free cookies etc, you can’t put out wheat cookies with separate bowls of dip and hope people pay attention.
