Okay, again I’m late.  I know, I suck like that.  But this months last months challenge does not suck like that! 

The Daring challenge is cannoli and it comes from Lisa Michele at Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives.   First, I have to say, this was soooo much easier than you would think.  I even made the ricotta from scratch and still so easy.  Time consuming, but easy (recipe here). 

Second, I have to tell you that I chat with Lisa from time to time and she could not be nicer.  Her site is funny, well written, beautifully photographed and overall inspiring.  I really encourage you to visit her site and see what this over achiever is achieving today.

Rolling out cannoli dough

On the forms

Ready to dip and fill

Now as for the cannoli, I made the dough one day, along with the ricotta and rolled out, fried and assembled them the next day.  This made it even easier.  I used the pasta machine method and found that I was able to make 25 standard size cannoli out of half the recipe.  Actually less than half, as I had a walnut size ball of scraps left over.  So I would estimate that the pasta machine method would yield about 60-70 cannoli. 

The filling I used was ricotta, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla.  I omitted the chocolate, zest and nuts because the girls are, um, picky.  The cheese was fragrant and delicious.  It was equally good on berries.  

I  My little chef dipped some of the shells in melted chocolate chips and then into crushed pistachios.   

Tutu wearing little chef

This is a very rich dessert.  Despite that, I would do this project again and again and again.  It was very impressive - no one could believe that I made them from scratch.  People kept saying, “you know they had a kit at Costco…”.  And while the cannoli lends itself to the fall and winter, I can see this dessert in all different seasons.  I imagine it would be fantastic with whipped cream and fresh berries or as miniatures and served with sorbet.  

Thank you Lisa for the amazing challenge.

~Blondie