I love canolis and have always wanted to try and make them homemade, but the deep frying of the shells is too much work and too fattening. So, I found this recipe for canoli cups instead!
http://www.cookingwithsugar.com
Ingredients:
Crust-
2 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Flour for dusting surface
Filling-
1 15oz. container of whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
Prepare filling by combining all ingredients except chocolate chips in a bowl with an electric mixer.
Place in a one-gallon freezer bag and refrigerate.
Roll out pie crusts and sprinkle each all over one side with sugar and cinnamon.
Roll over dough with rolling pin gently to push cinnamon and sugar into the pie crust.
Using a 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter, cut out circles in the dough.
Lightly press the circles into ungreased mini cupcake pans to form a pastry cup.
Gently prick the bottoms on the cups with a fork so that they don’t rise too much in the oven!
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from oven and once cool, fill with cream.
Cut off a small part of the corner of the plastic bag to fill cups.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and dust with powdered sugar!
Filling can be kept in the fridge up to 3 days before filling. Fill about 1 hour before serving.
To get cream extra thick, run ricotta through a cheese cloth over night to remove excess water.
****correction!!****
In previous comments I stated that I used a regular sized cupcake tin, but I didn’t!!! I apologize!! I just made them again for NYE an realized I have been using mini tins. Sorry everyone!
These were delicious!!!!!!
Would you be kind enough to tell me what size biscuit cutter you used to make the crust circles. Thanks
Hi Nancy!
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! I used a 2 1/2-3 inch cutter!
These look soo yummy!!!
Diana,
Thanks!! They’re so easy and so yummy! I made them on Easter and all the little kids gobbled them up in minutes!!! Luckily I saved some for the adults, (who loved them too)! Lol
I’m a big fan of mini desserts, that way I can eat more. These look delicious!
Mama’s Gotta Bake,
That’s exactly how I feel!!
These are soooooooooooooooooo amazing!
How do you store them? Fridge?
Erin,
I suggest you make the “shells” ahead of time, and make the cream the day u plan on serving them. Fill them with the cream a half hour to an hour before you serve them and then keep them in the fridge until you serve them. If you have leftovers (which we didn’t because everyone loved them) they should be okay in the fridge in Tupperware for a day or two. Also, if you want the cream to be thick run it through a cheese cloth overnight!
**the ricotta through a cheesecloth
Just a thought…. I found the cream part to taste better if you use half ricotta and half marscapone. It cuts down on the “grittiness” of the ricotta. Makes them taste more creamy. FYI.
Thanks!
I enjoy the plain ricotta taste, I strain the ricotta so it’s very smooth, thick, and creamy! But I love marscapone so I bet it would be delicious, it’s just more expensive!
That looks sooooo good
Thanks Shannon!
Can anyone tell me how many this makes?
Catherine,
It makes about 20-24!
If making the shells ahead of time, do you freeze them or refrigerate them? Thanks!
Michelle,
Just keep them in a ziploc bag on the counter! No need to refrigerate the shells.
Are you using a regular cupcake tin or the mini cupcake tins? These look great.
Thank you Annie! I used a regular cupcake tin
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Hello! Thanks for the recipe, I’m making it next week for a dinner party! I don’t have time to prep these after work before the party. Do you think that they’d be OK in the fridge overnight and not get too soggy? Or should I try to have my husband fill the cups? (A scary thought…)
Also, how do you run the Ricotta through a cheese cloth overnight? I’m new to baking from scratch
Thanks so much!
Hey Liz! I’m so glad your trying them out!! All you do is put the ricotta on top of the cheesecloth and then stick a bowl underneath it so it drains. Also, I would suggest you do have your husband fill the cups before the party or they may get soggy, he can do it!!!! Lol!
That sounds easy enough, thanks!
Well, we’ll see how it goes. If he does a horrible job maybe I’ll send you a picture for a laugh!
Liz, how’d they turn out?!
They’re for a dinner party on Tuesday, I’ll let you know! I still haven’t told my husband that he will be helping…haha.
Haha, can’t wait to hear!!
So I ended up doing a canoli dip instead to save time, and using ginger snap thins to dip with. They were a HUGE hit and everyone wanted to know what was in them! Thanks for all your advice! When I have more time I’ll definitely make the cups.
Yum!! Great idea, I’m glad it worked out!
my ricotta mixture seems kinda lumpy..should i continue to mix until completely smooth?? I’m totally afraid of OVER mixing. Thanks!
Lita,
Lumpy or thick?
Is it expired?
It’s good if it’s thick, but usually ricotta straight out of the container is thin if you don’t strain it with a cheesecloth.
I’d say check the expiration!
no, its lumpy.. just bought it from the grocery store exp Nov 2012. hopefully it will get creamier after refrigeration! Thanks Lex
Lita,
Interesting! Sorry I couldn’t help you out more, let me know how they turn out
Made these and they’ve turned out great!!
Kayla,
!
I’m so glad!!! Thanks for letting me know
I would lovve to try these using the mini cupcake tins. Any suggestions how to adjust?
Kathleen,
That should work just fine! Follow the same directions
-Alexa
Making these right now.I loved canolis they are my favorite. Can’t wait to see how they then out. I accidentally bought ricotta that wad part skim so hopefully it doesn’t take a huge difference
Samantha,
It shouldn’t make a difference!
Can’t wait to hear how you liked them
i didnt have a cutter so i used the lid of he ricotta and it worked very well
Kayleigh,
Thanks! That’s a great idea because a lot of people don’t have the cutters.
Can you use mascarpone cheese instead of ricotta?
LadyNessy,
Yes! Marscapone would be more cream cheesy than ricotta so a lot thicker, but it would still work!
I would’ve used a mini muffin tin to make these. Glad I read through the comments and saw that you use a regular size one. Might cut smaller circles and use a mini one, though. Had my 1st canoli ever this summer and couldn’t stop thinking about it! Can’t wait to try these!
Just made these last night for my canoli-loving husband. Big hit! Will def try straining the ricotta next time because it was a little runnier than ideal, but all in all fabulous and will def be making it again.
Amazing!! I’ll try Canoli anything
Has anyone ever tried these using phyllo cups? I don’t love pie crust as I think it gets too soggy and doughy.
That is so smart! I’m going to try it for a party next weekend, I’ll come back and let you know how it turned out. Thanks for the idea!
This is brilliant. I’m def trying these this year! The whole making the shells thing seems way high maintenance; this is way easier and perfect. Can’t wait to try these!
Have you read the ingredients on Pillsbury pie crusts?
For the commenters that had issues with grainy ricotta, just pulse it in a food processor & it will make it smooth and thick
These turned out awesome, thank you so much for sharing!!
Thanks for the tip!!
Hi, this might sound like a stupid question but which side goes into the tin? Is the cinnamon sugar side facing up or the plain side?
Aimee,
Not a stupid question at all! I did the cinnamon sugar side facing up in the pan just so that it wouldn’t really fall out into the bottom of the pan, but you can do it either way!
Great, thanks!
I make these for Thanksgiving desert and they came out great. The only thing was they were a little bit too sugary for me. Next time I will leave out the 2 tablespoons of white sugar.
Plan to make these for the holidays. I originally come from NY and are my absolute favorite! Thanks
These look fantastic! I want to make them next week but thinking about making them in mini cupcake pans instead of regular size. Have you every made them mini, do you know how many mini ones this recipe makes? Thanks so much!
Lauren,
I’ve never made them in the mini tin, but I’m guessing it would double?
Let me know!
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I found this recipe on http://www.cookingwithsugar.com like it says on my post!
My Mom loves cannoli and this will be a great recipe for me to make her! I can’t wait! Please visit my blog at http://www.partiespartiesparties.wordpress.com. Can’t wait to see more posts!
Such a great idea. Thanks. I’m going to try mini size and also then use the mini chips. I can’t wait!
Made these for a cookies exchange and they were a huge hit! I did use a mini muffin tin to make them bite size and it worked out great. Thanks!!
Another option is to line the inside of the crust with a thin layer of chocolate. This prevents them from getting soggy and keeps the crunch. They do this in Sicily at some of the best canoli shops.
I want to try your suggestion. How did you line with chocolate? Did you melt the chocolate or line with shavings?
Just wondering would muffin tins work or would they be too big?
I made these tonight and the cream is very runny, any suggestions on how to thicken it up, after it’s all mixed up already?? Thanks!!
Only thing I can suggest is to add more powdered sugar and keep the cream in the fridge. It is much runnier when you don’t run the ricotta through the cheese cloth unfortunately. But they are still delicious!
Made these last night for christmas dessert and they were amazing!!! Thanks for posting!!!! Will definitely make these again!
Made these today for a family gathering. Beautiful and delicious! These will definitely be added to my party recipe list. Thanks!
My filling came out lumpy too
Read through reviews and checked the expiration date of my ricotta cheese. It expires 2 months from today. Aside from the small cottage cheese like lumps, the filling is a tad too sweet. I used an my kitchenaid stand mixer so I don’t know where it went wrong.
Mary,
Did you strain your ricotta through a cheese cloth overnight?
It could have possibly just been a bad container of ricotta to begin with…it should have have looked firm, but not solid, and a little grainy when you opened the package. Ricotta is a bit lumpy, but if you mixed it well enough it should have came out smooth. Sorry that it didn’t come out the way you wanted!
These look delicious!!
These were really easy and fun! I recommend doubling the filling recepie and folding in the chocolate chips, though. These were really yummy!
Made these for Super Bowl and they were a big hit! Shells take a little work, but the filling is super easy. Definitely worth the effort. Baked pie crust tastes just like a fried cannoli shell.
Yummy!! I made these for my Italian friends baby shower. She loved them and they were such a hit! Thank you for sharing.
Made these tonight with a friend and we loved them! Definitely easy and super delicious. My friend strained the ricotta overnight and it was smooth and perfect for the filling. Anyhow, thanks so much for sharing.
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Yummy !!
Reblogged this on The Craftsy Mom and commented:
I love the idea of these! Canolis are one of my favorite treats