Cannoli Bites

By Morganp9661

Ingredients

• FOR THE CANNOLI FILLING:
• 12 oz whole milk ricotta cheese, strained (see note below)
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
• FOR THE CANNOLI SHELLS:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
• 2 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 1 large egg white
• ½ cup sweet Marsala wine (see note below)
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• FOR SERVING:
• Mini chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
• Powdered sugar
• (Or you can decorate the bites anyway you like).....
• ((You can dip the cups into melted chocolate, then dip the cups into crushed nuts, or sprinkles. Then pipe the filling and add some choc chips for garnish)).

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget

Preparation

Step 1

To make the cannoli filling:
Strain the ricotta cheese in a piece of cheesecloth tucked in a colander set over a bowl for at least 8 hours in the refrigerator - overnight is best.
(I can't stress enough how important it is to allow the ricotta cheese enough time to strain. It needs to be super dry in order to keep the cannoli cream from being runny - and nobody likes a runny cannoli cream).

Step 2

Once the cheese has dried out, mix it with the mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until well-combined and smooth.
Chill in an air-tight container until ready to use (at least 30 minutes).
(The cannoli cream can be made 2-3 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator).

Step 3

To make the cannoli shells:
Pulse the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade until combined.
Pour in the melted butter and pulse a few more times until it incorporates into the dry ingredients and then pulse in the egg white until it combines.
Use a rubber spatula to clear the sides of the bowl.

Step 4

With the food processor running, pour the Marsala through the feed tube into the bowl and keep the processor running only until the dough comes together in a ball.
Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap them in plastic wrap, and chill the dough pieces for
30 minutes - 1 hour.

Step 5

Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Roll each piece of dough out on a well-floured surface to -inch thickness.
(Try not to stretch the dough while rolling and keep the surface under the dough floured to prevent sticking).
With a 2 ½-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 48 rounds of dough, re-rolling the dough scraps as needed.
Transfer the rounds to the cups of two 24-cup a mini muffin pans, pressing them lightly to mold them into the cups.
Spray the tops evenly and lightly with vegetable spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the shells are lightly browned and starting to bubble in places.
Transfer the pans to wire racks and allow the shells to cool for a couple minutes then take them out of the pans and allow them to cool completely on the racks.

Step 6

((The cannoli shells can be make 1 day in advance and stored in a plastic zip-top bag or resealable container at room temperature)).
Fill a pastry bag (fitted with a star tip) with cannoli cream and pipe the cream generously into the shells. ((If there is some leftover cannoli cream get a spoon and enjoy ))...
Drop a few mini chocolate chips on top of each cannoli bite then dust all of the bites with powdered sugar.
Keep the bites refrigerated until ready to serve, at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.