Star Spangled Cannoli

 

Once again it is time for our group post. 🙂 With the 4th of July quickly approaching we thought we would give you some yummy Red, White and Blue Recipes. Any of these recipes would be wonderful at your celebration and is sure to be a big BANG!! 😉 I am sharing my STAR SPANGLED CANNOLI!! Make sure you click the links atn the end of the post to see what kind of FIREWORKS the other ladies have been making in their kitchens.

 

The Day before you are ready to make your cannoli’s you are going to want to start to make your cannoli cream so that your ricotta can drain.

Cannoli Cream

3/4 cup whole milk Ricotta Cheese, drained overnight

3/4 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp Grand Marnier or Vanilla

Whip Ricotta and Mascarpone together. Add powdered sugar and grand marnier, mix until everything is incorporated well and smooth. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours.

Cannoli Shells

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp dark brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2 egg yolks

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

3 ounces sweet marsala wine

In a bowl mix everything EXCEPT the marsala wine with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Add the Marsala wine 1 ounce at a time, until you can mix your cannoli dough with your hands. Form into a ball and let sit in bowl uncovered for 30 minutes to rest.

Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut your dough into 6 inch circles.Your should have enough dough to make 12 cannoli shells. Drape the dough over cannoli forms and lightly wet one end with water and overlap the ends and press to stick together.

Preheat your oil in a deep fryer to 360 degrees. If you don’t have a deep fryer you can heat oil in a deep thick sided pan. Once your oil is heated drop your cannoli form into deep fryer until golden brown, takes about 3 minutes. Remove from oil and gently place on a paper towel lined baking pan. Let cool at least 2 minutes before removing shell from cannoli form.

Or….. If you like you can purchase premade cannoli shells from a specialty store or Italian market.

Once you have either purchased or made your shells (if you have made them make sure they are cooled completely before moving on) It is time to  move on to dipping the ends of your shells in some white chocolate and sprinkles.

White Chocolate and Sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your shells.

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 tsp shortening

2 ounces sprinkles (I used red, white and blue stars)

In a microwave safe bowl place white chocolate chips and shortening (I used a 1 cup pyrex measuring cup) and melt you chocolate chips in 20 second intervals stirring after each 20 seconds until your chips are melted and thin enough to dip your shells in.

Dip the end of each shell in white chocolate and then directly into sprinkles and set on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Once you have all your shells dipped and sprinkled place baking sheet in fridge until chocolate and sprinkles are set.

Next you are ready to fill…..

Fill pastry bag with cannoli filling and fill each shell with cream.

Chop up..

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries

and toss in a small bowl, carefully place your fruit on the ends of you cannoli’s and place in fridge until ready to serve.ENJOY!! 🙂

Red White Chocolate and Blueberry Cheesecake from Tampa Cake Girl http://tampacakegirlwordpress.com/2015/06/Red-White-Chocolate-And-Blueberry-Cheesecake/

Patriotic Fruit Pops from The Rowdy Baker http://www.therowdybaker.com/?p=3787

Easy Butter Cake With Berries from Moore or Less Cooking Blog http://mooreorlesscooking.com/2015/06/29/easy-butter-cake-with-berries/

Patriotic Pie from Cooking from a SAHM http://cookingfromasahm.blogspot.com/2015/06/patriotic-pie.html