Fun food chocolate cannoli’s a snap to make! Easy recipes from cocktails and appetizers to main dishes and desserts!
Growing up with an Italian American parent, we had cannoli regularly and they are one of my favorite desserts! Subscribe to the Snappy Gourmet newsletter for all the latest recipes and get my FREE ebook! By subscribing, I consent to receiving emails. They have been super popular on my site and on Pinterest. Nothing tastes exactly like a cannoli besides a cannoli.
But they are delicious and have a lot of great flavor! Cannoli are different to different people, so if you make substitutions or changes, you may have different results. Wondering what the heck a cannoli is? Maybe we should start with that.
Cannoli are from the Sicily region of Italy but have become very Americanized. I asked a lot of my Italian American friends what kinds of cannoli they grew up with. Like pizza, everyone had their own favorites! Cannoli are made up of a fried pastry dough tube that is generally crispy. They are generally filled with sweetened ricotta cheese. Cannoli may be plain with the sweetened ricotta and no additional ingredients. You can usually find cannoli at most Italian bakeries, specialty grocery stores, and even sometimes your neighborhood grocery store.
You can even find a cannoli kit on Amazon and sometimes at local specialty grocery stores. Even our Costco carries a great cannoli kit around the holidays. Or if you’re wondering where to buy cannoli shells so you can fill them yourself, try these different types on Amazon or your local specialty grocery stores. You can even ask the Italian bakeries to sell you just the cannoli shells so you can make your own filling of choice. Or make your own homemade cannoli shells.
I love using a medium cookie scoop to help get the same size cookie every time. I can’t stress enough how good quality baking sheets can make such a difference. Move them to cooling racks to finish cooling. An inexpensive zester for fresh orange zest will make things a lot easier. Again, you don’t necessarily need all of that equipment. Just suggestions to make things easier. Like I said cannoli are different to different people.
Everyone swears the cannoli near them are the ONLY authentic cannoli. I can’t even begin to tell you how many emails I get on this. Some people grow up with cannoli that is just the pastry shell and plain cannoli cream. Some people are used to cannoli with chocolate and nuts. And some swear candied fruit in the cream is the only way to go. And some swear cannoli need maraschino cherries. Add or substitute your favorite flavorings for mix-ins for the cinnamon, vanilla, orange zest, chocolate chips, and pistachios.