This recipe puts the can in cannoli! By baking the shells instead of frying, you can skip some complicated steps.
Makes 12 cannolis
Tools needed:
Rolling pin
5-inch metal cutter: https://a.co/d/cKulihl
Tongs
Cannoli tubes: https://a.co/d/c7P72qx
Here is how to prepare the various elements of your vanilla cannolis.
Ingredients:
For the baked shells:
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 Tbsp cane sugar
2 Tbsp butter, cold (Earth Balance recommended)
2 Tbsp sweet marsala (or other sweet red wine)
2 Tbsp water, cold
1 tsp cinnamon (option but recommended)
Pinch of sea salt
*Fun and quick alternative: Purchase a store-bought vegan puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm recommended) to roll and cut as your dough. Follow the instructions below and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.
For the filling:
2 cups nondairy ricotta cheese (Kite Hill recommended)
½ cup nondairy cream cheese (Tofutti or Trader Joe’s recommended)
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
½ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions:
For the baked shells:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, starting with the flour and then adding the other dry ingredients, followed first with the butter (incorporate by hand and blend until a crumbly mixture forms). Then add the remaining wet ingredients. Combine with a mixing spatula until incorporated, then form a dough ball.
Place the dough on a clean area (you can use a large cutting board) prepared with a dusting of flour. Gently knead dough, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and no more than 1 day.
Prepare a clean area and your rolling pin with a dusting of flour to roll the prepared dough. Roll dough out to approximately ⅛ inch thickness. Use a 5-inch round cutter to cut your round forms. Take any unused dough remnants and knead them to cut out any additional shells.
Wrap the round dough pieces around the cannoli tubes, sealing the ends together with a touch of water or non-dairy milk (full-fat oat milk is recommended). Don’t use too much water or milk, and keep the liquid from going onto the tubes; use just enough to seal directly on the dough.
Bake the shells, while on the cannoli tubes, for approximately 15 minutes or until golden.
For the filling:
Place all ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl and combine until smooth (stirring by hand or with a handheld mixer).
Optional: Would chocolate complete your cannolis? Add ½ cup of mini chocolate chips into the filling mixture above, and mix until incorporated before filling your shells.
Fill each cannoli shell and enjoy!
Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or until ready to use. This filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight.
