Mandarin cider served in a glass Holiday Mandarin Mulled Cider BBQ sauce Diavola pizza served Spicy BBQ Diavola Pizza Warm Bagna Cauda dip served in a fondue pot with fresh vegetables Classic Bagna Cauda with Winter Crudités Blueberry pretzel plated Soft Blueberry Pretzels with Cinnamon Sugar Savory meat and vegetable biscuits served Savory Meat and Vegetable Stuffed Biscuits Alboronía with pumpkin, eggplant and fresh cilantro served Spanish Pumpkin and Eggplant Stew (Alboronía) Slice of Fainá chickpea flatbread with tomato sauce Chickpea Flatbread with Tomato Sauce (Fainá) Elote with Sour Cream - fresh corn served with sour cream, cheese, and spicy paprika Classic Sour Cream Elote Zucchini fritters with tahini sauce Zucchini Fritters with Lemony Tahini Dip Chestnut Zongzi served on a plate Sweet Chestnut Sticky Rice Dumplings (Zongzi) Kohlrabi calzone Roasted Kohlrabi & Mozzarella Calzone Sausage burger with cheese and vegetables Hungarian Style Pork & Sausage Burger Fig stuffed naan bread served Fig-Stuffed Naan Bread Gingerbread Waffles with orange zest Gingerbread Spiced Waffles White pizza with creamy cheese topping Extra Creamy White Pizza with Ricotta and Mascarpone Orange cider served in a glass Warm Spiced Orange Cider Beet and Leek Wrap with Peanut Butter Beet and Leek Whole Wheat Wraps with Peanut Butter Chicken Arroz Caldo served with hard-boiled eggs, scallions, and fried garlic Chicken Arroz Caldo with Hard-Boiled Eggs Greek baked giant beans served with whole wheat toast Rustic Greek Baked Beans with Whole Wheat Toast Fish pie with cauliflower mash, golden brown creamy topping and fish filling Low-Carb Fish Pie with Cauliflower Mash Mandarin cider served in a glass Holiday Mandarin Mulled Cider BBQ sauce Diavola pizza served Spicy BBQ Diavola Pizza Warm Bagna Cauda dip served in a fondue pot with fresh vegetables Classic Bagna Cauda with Winter Crudités Blueberry pretzel plated Soft Blueberry Pretzels with Cinnamon Sugar Savory meat and vegetable biscuits served Savory Meat and Vegetable Stuffed Biscuits Alboronía with pumpkin, eggplant and fresh cilantro served Spanish Pumpkin and Eggplant Stew (Alboronía) Slice of Fainá chickpea flatbread with tomato sauce Chickpea Flatbread with Tomato Sauce (Fainá) Elote with Sour Cream - fresh corn served with sour cream, cheese, and spicy paprika Classic Sour Cream Elote Zucchini fritters with tahini sauce Zucchini Fritters with Lemony Tahini Dip Chestnut Zongzi served on a plate Sweet Chestnut Sticky Rice Dumplings (Zongzi) Kohlrabi calzone Roasted Kohlrabi & Mozzarella Calzone Sausage burger with cheese and vegetables Hungarian Style Pork & Sausage Burger Fig stuffed naan bread served Fig-Stuffed Naan Bread Gingerbread Waffles with orange zest Gingerbread Spiced Waffles White pizza with creamy cheese topping Extra Creamy White Pizza with Ricotta and Mascarpone Orange cider served in a glass Warm Spiced Orange Cider Beet and Leek Wrap with Peanut Butter Beet and Leek Whole Wheat Wraps with Peanut Butter Chicken Arroz Caldo served with hard-boiled eggs, scallions, and fried garlic Chicken Arroz Caldo with Hard-Boiled Eggs Greek baked giant beans served with whole wheat toast Rustic Greek Baked Beans with Whole Wheat Toast Fish pie with cauliflower mash, golden brown creamy topping and fish filling Low-Carb Fish Pie with Cauliflower Mash
Cannoli with chocolate dipped ends, sprinkled with pistachios, filled with fine ricotta cream
Cannoli with chocolate and pistachios, freshly made

Chocolate-Dipped Cannoli with Pistachios

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Cakes and Desserts
Sicily's iconic sweet, the cannoli, is a masterpiece of textures: the meeting of a bubbly, crispy pastry shell with velvet-smooth, sweet ricotta cream. This version raises the stakes with chocolate-dipped ends, which not only frames the pastry elegantly but acts as a 'sealant' for the crunchy pistachios. The secret to real cannoli is fresh filling: in Sicily, buying pre-filled cannoli is considered a sin!
🕒 Prep Time 30 mins
🍳 Cook Time 20 mins
⌛ Total Time 50 mins
🍽️ Servings 6 servings
🔥 Calories 420 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Metal cannoli tubes: For shaping the dough.
  • Piping bag: For precise filling.
  • Sieve/Strainer: For straining the ricotta.

Allergen Information

⚠️ Milk
⚠️ Tree Nuts
⚠️ Wheat

Instructions

1 ✓

Place the ricotta in a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth and let it drain in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Tip: Removing whey is critical: if left in, the cream will be runny and soak the dough.
2 ✓

If working with raw dough: roll thin, cut circles, wrap around tubes (seal edge with egg white), and fry in hot oil until golden brown. If using pre-made shells, skip this.

Tip: When frying, the alcohol in the dough (if wine is used) evaporates quickly, creating the signature bubbly surface.
3 ✓

Press the drained ricotta through a sieve, then mix until smooth with the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Transfer to a piping bag.

Tip: Pressing it through a sieve breaks up protein clumps, making the cream silky smooth.
4 ✓

Break the dark chocolate into a bowl, add the oil, and melt over a double boiler (or carefully in the microwave).

Tip: The oil gives the chocolate a sheen and prevents it from cracking too hard when bitten.
5 ✓

Dip both ends of the cannoli shells into the melted chocolate, then immediately dip into the chopped pistachios. Let them set for a few minutes.

Tip: The chocolate sets quickly, so work efficiently.
6 ✓

Fill the shells with the cream starting from both ends to ensure the center is filled. Serve immediately.

Tip: Only fill immediately before serving; this is the golden rule of cannoli!

Recipe FAQ

Why did the shell get soggy?
You filled it too early. The moisture in the ricotta softens the crispy shell in minutes. Always fill right before serving!
I don't have metal tubes.
You can make cylinders out of stiff aluminum foil, but metal conducts heat better.

Ingredients

  • 9 oz Cannoli Shells (store-bought or homemade dough)
  • 15 oz Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese (good quality, drained)
  • 1 cup Confectioners' Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 pinch Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup Shelled Pistachios (unsalted, chopped)
  • 5 oz Dark Chocolate (min. 60% cocoa)
  • 1 tsp Vegetable Oil (for the chocolate)
  • 2 cups Vegetable Oil for frying (if making shells)