HOMEMADE CANNOLI

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This recipe is super special to me, as it hails from my husband’s family. I had enjoyed cannoli many, many times, but it wasn’t until I started dating my husband that I found people who actually made the whole pastry (shells AND filling!) completely from scratch. Not only were the shells and filling homemade, but my husband’s grandfather used to work at an aluminum plant and crafted the cannoli forms himself!

Nearly 10 years ago, on New Year’s Eve day, we all gathered at his parents’ house to make cannoli. I watched his Nana roll out the dough, watched his dad stir the filling patiently, and then got to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

If you are not familiar, cannoli are a traditional Sicilian pastry that is made by rolling out a circle of dough and wrapping it around a metal cylinder or “form” and then deep frying. Once cool, the shells are filled with a sweetened ricotta filling. Sometimes nuts or dried fruit are added to the filling and sometimes the ends are dipped into crushed nuts or chocolate chips. Utterly delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• For the Ricotta Filling
• 32 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
• 2 cups (397 grams) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (56 grams) cornstarch
• For the Shells
• 16 ounces cake flour
• ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 ounces (5 tablespoons) vegetable shortening
• 2 egg yolks
• ¾ – 1 cup white wine
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Special Equipment
• Cannoli Forms

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the Dough for the Shells: In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour and the sugar. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolks and stir with a wooden spoon until mostly combined (the dough will look shaggy).
2. Add 2/3 cup of the wine and stir and fold using a rubber spatula. You want the dough to come together like pie dough, so if it is still dry and shaggy, add more wine, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together when pinched between your fingers. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 4 hours.
3. ....................................

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