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[1] Pumpkin-pizzelle cannoli, ready to eat (photo © Colavita).
[2] Pumpkin purée is mixed with the next two ingredients (photo © Good Eggs).
[3] Ricotta cheese, the classic base for cannoli filling (photo © Murray’s Cheese).
[4] Mascarpone, extra rich and called Italian cream cheese, adds a special touch to the filling (photo © Gruppo Grifo).
[5] A pizzelle maker (photo © Cucina Pro | Amazon).
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Our weekend baking project is pumpkin cannoli. We made a different pumpkin cannoli recipe last year, with shells we bought from a local bakery.
We served them as sophisticated Halloween fare and liked them so much that we made them regularly throughout the fall and winter seasons.
This year, we have a new recipe. It’s a bit more challenging because it uses pizzelles as the cannoli shells.
The pizzelles are homemade from scratch, using a pizzelle iron (photo #5). So if you have an under-utilized pizzelle iron in the kitchen, dig it out.
If you don’t have an iron, maybe a friend or neighbor has a loaner?
Unlike the conventional, thick cannoli shells, pizzelle shells are thin and more delicate. The cannoli need to be served soon after filling, or the shells will get soggy. But you can make the filling and shells separately in advance, and fill them a few minutes before serving.
You also need a cannoli tube (mold). For less than $9, you can buy a set that includes cannoli molds plus cone molds so you can later make ice cream cones from the pizzelles. You can also use the cannoli molds to make curly pretzels, rolls, and biscuits.
This new recipe also uses mascarpone cheese along with ricotta, plus almond extract and EVOO. Thanks to Colavita for the recipe.
> Food 101: In Italian, the singular form of the pastry is cannolo, and the plural is cannoli. In the U.S., some people use cannoli as the singular and cannolis as the plural. Both of these latter uses are Americanized.
> June 16th is Cannoli Day.
> October 26th is National Pumpkin Day.
> December 16th is National Pizzelle Day.
> The history of cannoli.
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CANNOLI WITH PIZZELLES
Ingredients For the Pizzelles
3 eggs
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients For The Filling
1 cup ricotta cheese, fresh
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1½ cups confectioner’s sugar
⅓ cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon each allspice, ground clove, ground ginger
Preparation
1. MAKE the pizzelles. Beat the eggs and sugar with a handheld electric mixer until foamy, Add the olive oil, vanilla, and almond extracts. Mix well.
2. ADD the baking powder to the flour and whisk to combine. Then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix with the electric mixer until the dough is combined.
3. HEAT up the pizzelle iron. While the iron is heating, roll the pizzelle dough into balls about an inch in diameter. Open the iron, and press the dough balls into the spaces for the pizzelle. Close the lid and allow them to bake. The light on the iron will go out when they are ready.
4. QUICKLY, using a metal spatula, remove the freshly cooked, malleable pizzelle and wrap it around a cannoli form or a wooden spoon handle. Hold it in place for about 30 seconds until set. Repeat with the remaining dough until you have made all of the shells.
5. MAKE the filling. Combine all of the ingredients and blend with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Do not over-mix or the filling will become grainy. When you’re ready to fill the shells…
6. TRIM off the bottom ½” of the pastry bag and insert a metal tip into the bottom of the bag. Using a spatula or large spoon, scoop the filling into the pastry bag and squeeze it toward the bottom. You don’t have to fill it all up at once.
7. INSERT the tip of the filled pastry bag into one side of the cannoli shell and pipe in the filling. Flip the cannoli shell around and fill the other side. Repeat with the remaining shells.
MORE CANNOLI RECIPES
Classic Pumpkin Cannoli
Deconstructed Cannoli Recipe
Pumpkin Cannoli In Pizzelles (recipe above)
Cannoli Pie Recipe
A Year Of Crazy Cannoli Flavors
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