How To Make Cannoli – The Chip and Dip Method
Who does not like cannoli? It is one of the best desserts ever – a crisp, crunchy shell surrounding a creamy sweet filling. It is nothing but yum! I always like the tube and cream configuration, too. It’s not something you eat with a fork and knife, either. A cannoli has to be tackled with your hands. The tube configuration does add some complexity to making your own, not a lot, but enough to require some special equipment. But what if, as others have done, a page was taken from the chip and dip world and the tubular cannoli was re-mixed as a chip and dip? GENIUS! And still nothing but yum!
This is not something I came up with, no. In truth, I saw an ad for this from my local grocery store with a really big price tag – $15.00. Sure, it was a holiday party tray, but still $15.00 seemed steep. I am not one to add extra work and I never bemoan a semi-homemade opportunity, but this time the $15.00 just struck me wrong and I decided I would make it myself.
How To Make Cannoli – The Chip
Turning the tube into a cracker is easy. Cannoli dough is a pretty straight forward dough, but it does need some old fashioned kneading. As you look across a bunch of recipes, you might notice the ingredients are a bit odd. Most use butter and an acid – wine or vinegar (the acid also helps create that bubbly, mottled texture on the shells). It seems odd to use ingredients that slow gluten formation (butter, acid and sugar) and then to knead the dickens out of the dough. The kneading is an act that would serve to do the opposite of what the ingredients were meant to do. With cannoli shells, we are looking for a middle ground – a tender shell (or cracker in this case) you get from a shorter dough with some crispness. I think the cracker version is best as crisp as possible. In this recipe, the butter is optional. Without it, a much crisper cracker is made. Plus, the crackers seem less oily after frying. Many times I have purchased a cannoli from the Italian deli or bakery only for the shell to be a little soggy due to the filling. A cannoli dough made without butter does not get soggy as easily. Crisp is better! In this recipe the crackers are cut into rounds. If the rounds are stretched a little bit oblong, they tend to curl a little and become a nice little cannoli shell scoop!
How To Make Cannoli – The Dip
A good crisp chip enables a thick rich dip! There really isn’t much reason to stray too far from a classic filling. A classic filling will make a great dip. Since the creamiest dip possible is the best dip possible, an addition of mascarpone or cream cheese to ricotta is a good idea. The ricotta in the store is delicious, but I don’t find it that creamy. The ricotta the Italian deli or bakery uses is a special kind that is creamier than the kind we can purchase at the grocery. After the cheese, it is a matter of adding powdered sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips and candied orange peel, all added to taste. If these don’t float your boat, then try a peppermint cannoli dip made with candy cane or just plain vanilla. The filling can be flavored so many ways.
Here is how to make cannoli with the chip and dip method.
- 2 tbsp butter, softened (optional)
- 1 cup of flour
- 3 tbsp of sugar
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tsp of cocoa powder
- a dash of salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp of water
- 8 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese or cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla
- 1/4 cup of powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
- 2 oz of candied orange peel (optional)
- Oil for frying
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa and salt.
- If using the butter, using your fingers, rub the flour into the butter until it is incorporated and the mixture looks sandy.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture.
- In a small bowl, add the egg, vinegar and water. Beat the mixture with a fork to break up the egg. Pour the mixture in the well of the flour mixture.
- Using a fork, stir the flour into the egg mixture. When a rough dough forms, pour the mixture on to a clean, lightly floured work surface.
- Knead the dough incorporating any flour that was not incorporated in the bowl. If it is sticky, add flour as needed. Continue kneading the dough for ten minutes until it begins looking smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a disc.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for an hour.
- After the dough has rested, cut the dough disk in 4 even pieces. Lightly flour the work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll out each piece of dough into a circle that is as thin as possible, shoot for 1/16 of an inch. The thinner the dough, the crisper the crackers will be.
- Using a fork, dock the dough with a fork all over. This will prevent the crackers from puffing up while frying.
- Using a 2 inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into crackers.
- Fill a deep fryer with vegetable oil as per the manufacturers instructions and heat it to 350F. If you are not using a deep fryer, fill a large pot only 1/3 full with oil. Put the heat on low and allow the oil to heat slowly. Using an appropriate thermometer to measure, heat the oil to 350F.
- When the oil is heated, drop the cut dough into the oil. The crackers will sink then float. Fry for 1-1.5 minutes then, using a fryer safe spoon, flip the crackers and fry another minute or until the crackers are golden brown. Remove the crackers from the fryer with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Repeat until all the crackers are fried. If using a pot of oil, make sure the oil does not get too hot and smoke. Also, make sure the oil is at 350F after each batch. The oil may cool between batches.
- Allow the crackers to cool.
- Using a sharp knife, roughly chop the orange peel.
- In a medium bowl, using a fork or spatula, mix the ricotta and mascarpone cheese. Add the vanilla and mix well. Mix in the sugar. Add the chocolate chips and orange peel.
- Set the dip in the refrigerator for a half hour.
- Serve the cannoli chips with the dip.
- The butter is optional in the cracker recipe. Using the butter will create flakier crackers. Without the butter, the crackers will be crisper.
- The sugar, chocolate chips and orange peel can be added to taste.
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