CHEATER CANNOLIS
Susan and Carmela were walking home from junior high in North Arlington, New Jersey. They grown up next door to each other on Stover Avenue and had been best friends since they could walk. Susan was thinking about her Cheater Cannolis that she was going to make.
Carmela says to Susan, “So, what are you going to make to bring to your cousins First Communion party?
Susan says, “I’m gonna make cannolis.”
Carmela says, “Are you nuts!? Just be careful you don’t fry your fingers in that oil!”
Susan comes back with, “I’m safe. I read up on it and I found an easier and safer way to do it.”
“How are you going to make the shells without frying them? I really don’t see that happening, Suz.”
“Instead of frying the shells I’m gonna use pizzelles.”
Carmela just rolls her eyes and says, “Yeah, right, let me know how that magic turns out.”
They had reached their block and went into their separate homes to get out of their school clothes. This is how Susan made her Cannolis.
Ingredients
for the shells
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tbsp’ baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 3/8 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter – melted
- 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract or anise extract or 1/4 tbsp. each
for the filling
- 3 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup chocolate chips – optional
How to easily make your Cheater Cannolis
I’ll bet that you love cannolis and that you have never made them. I agree. Who wants to fry those tubes in deep hot oil? I thought this was my brilliant idea until I read up on cannoli and found out that starting in the 1930’s people that were as lazy as me had started making them with pizzelles.
First you are going to need a pizzelle iron. We have always had one. Sometimes the grandkids help me make a batch of pizzelles and they take home a bag of them, covered in powdered sugar. Plug in the iron and set it at about 3/4 of the way from lowest to highest. Wipe off the cooking surfaces and spray them with oil. Spray again for each batch. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove. Mix the flour and the baking powder in a bowl and set aside. Put the eggs and the sugar in another bowl and whisk together or do it with a hand held mixer for 2-3 minutes until it thickens up. Slowly add the butter and the vanilla mixing as you go. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix it all together. You can over mix this so just get it smooth. Add a dollop of the dough to each hot spot. You will make some too big and some too small until you get the size right for your pizzelles.
When they are done lift them out with a fork and right away wrap them around Cannoli tubes. Set them on a mopeen, er, towel with the seam side down and a weight on the top like the cooks fork and the honing steel you see in the pic.
It just takes a couple of minutes to cool off and keep their shape as you are cooking up the next ones.
When you are done making your tubes. You make the filling. It’s super easy. Just mix the powdered sugar and the ricotta cheese together. Add some extras if you want. The most common is chocolate chips then comes ground up pistachios. You can add just about anything. We’ve seen them with cherries, raisons, chopped up walnuts and on and on. Or, you could just use it as the filling with nothing else added.
Enjoy! With some espresso and sambuca.
Cheater Cannoli
Ingredients
- cup flour
- 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
- 2 eggs
- 3/8 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract or anise extract or 1/4 each
Filling
- 3 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- First you are going to need a pizzelle iron. You can find them at Bed Bath and Beyond or Kohlers or click on the link for amazon. We have always had one. Sometimes the grandkids help me make a batch of pizzelles and they take home a bag of them, covered in powdered sugar. Plug in the iron and set it at about 3/4 of the way from lowest to highest. Wipe it off the cooking surfaces and spray them with oil. Respray for each batch. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove. Mix the flour and the baking powder in a bowl and set aside. Put the eggs and the sugar in another bowl and whisk together or do it with a hand held mixer for 2-3 minutes until it thickens up. Slowly add the butter and the vanilla mixing as you go. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix it all together. You can over mix this so just get it smooth. Add a dollop of the dough to each hot spot. You will make some too big and some too small until you get the dollop size down pat. The pizzelle iron that these links take you to has a light that tells you when the pizzelles are done.
- When they are done lift them out with a table fork and right away wrap them around Cannoli tubes. Set them on a mopeen, er, towel with the seam side down and a weight on the top like the cooks fork and the honing steel you see in the pic. It just takes a couple of minutes to cool off and keep their shape as you are cooking up the next pair.
- When you are done making your tubes. You make the filling. It's super easy. Just mix the powdered sugar and the ricotta cheese together. Add some extras if you want. The most common is chocolate chips then comes ground up pistachios. You can add just about anything. We've seen them with cherries, raisons, chopped up walnuts and on and on. Or, you could just use the filling with nothing else added.
- Enjoy! With some espresso and some samboca.
Thank You! Been doing it for years and it works!
Very good idea, Jack.