Leave the gun; take the cannoli

We had a murder mystery dinner on Saturday, speakeasy-style. You can't have a Chicago mobster dinner without cannolis, so I attempted to make them using a conglomeration of recipes I found online. The result was pretty tasty. Measurements weren't exact. The amount I used made about 10-12 cannolis.

16 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup cream, whipped
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 -1 tsp. almond extract
mini chocolate chips
phyllo dough
4 T. melted butter
sugar
1 egg white, beaten

For the shells:
Thaw the phyllo and place one sheet on your working surface. Spread butter over the surface with a pastry brush then sprinkle lightly with sugar. Repeat with a second sheet. Cut the dough into about 4-inch strips.

If you don't have cannoli molds, using heavy duty aluminum foil, cut it into 6-inch strips and loosely roll, jelly-roll fashion, with a 1-inch opening. Pinch part of one end to keep it rolled up. Spray well with cooking spray.

Roll a strip of the dough around a mold and brush with egg whites. Place it, seam side down, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool completely before removing the mold or filling.

For the filling:
Beat the ricotta with powdered sugar, vanilla and almond until smooth. Add half of the whipped cream and beat until mixed well. Fold in the other half of whipped cream and a handful of mini chips. Put the filling in a pastry bag or ziploc bag and cut the tip off. Fill the shells right before serving. Dust with cocoa and/or powdered sugar. (If you use the normal ricotta, most recipes said to drain it in cheese cloth for a few hours, but the part skim shouldn't require it.)

This wasn't much more time intensive than cookies, and it makes a fun alternative to the usual cookies/cakes dessert.

~L