Cannolis
Ingredients
Shells
+ 2 1/2 cups flrou
+ 1 1/2 eggs plus 2 yolks
+ 1/4 cup melted butter
+ 1/2 cup marsala
+ 1 egg white, beaten
+ oil, for frying
Filling + 1 lb whole milk ricotta, drained
+ 3 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar
+ 1/4 lemon, juiced (optional)
+ 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
+ 2 tsp orange rind, grated (optional)
+ mini chocolate chips
Recipe
+ make the shells: place the flour on a work surface and make a well in the center. place eggs, yolks, butter and marsala in the well and combine with a fork. gradually incorporate the flour, little by little. knead the dough until smooth, about 10 minutes. let rest, covered with a damp cloth, about 30 minutes in the refrigerator. roll the dough very thin and cut into 4-inch circles (i used a tupperware lid)
+ loosely wrap the dough circles around the cannoli tubes and seal the overlap with beaten egg white. deep fry at 325F until golden brown. remove from oil and carefully slide off the tubes. cool on a wire rack.
+ for the filling, drain the ricotta in a cheesecloth-lined colander in the refrigerator for at least an hour (overnight works best). whip in the confectioner’s sugar with a fork. just adding sugar keeps the ricotta flavor very pure, but for a more varied flavor, add the lemon juice, vanilla and orange rind.
+ in a pasty bag (or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped), pipe the filling into the shells just before serving. sprinkle with chocolate chips and dust with confectioner’s sugar.
