This is my Sicilian mother's recipe. I';m sure if she were alive today, she'd slap me up side the head for giving this out:

CANNOLI SHELLS
Serving Size: 20

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 5/8 tablespoons sugar
1 whole egg
6 tablepoons shortening
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 egg white -- beaten
oil -- for deep frying

To make shells, combine flour, cinnamon, sugar, egg, shortening, and water. Blend well. Add vinegar by the teaspoonful until dough becomes stiff. Chill for two hours.

Roll dough (in 1/4 portions) on a lightly floured board into a large rectangle, as thin as possible. Cut into 4" squares.

Wrap squares around six-inch cannoli tubes so that two corners fold over and two corners point outward. Brush the touching corners with egg white and/or water so that they will stick together.

Deep fry in hot oil (360) until golden (some of the shells' bubbles will pop).

Cool and remove from tubes.

Fill the shells with a spoon or bastry bag. Dip the ends of the filled cannolis into chopped nuts (walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, almonds) or tiny chocolate chips.

NOTES: You can also add 2 tablespoons of grated orange or lemon rind to the shell dough. Or 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder instead of or part of the cinnamon.

Marsala wine can substitute for some or all of the vinegar in the shell dough.

I have her recipe for the filling, as well.

On a business note, make sure you know ALL of your costs, including your time, that goes into the cannolis. I'm sure you'll have fun at it, but it is a lot of work. And if you ever think about actually doing it for profit, it will be difficult to raise the price at that time. Better get a good price now.

And make the best quality cannolis you can. Don't search for ways to make them more cheaply.

Joe

We use a 5" plastic lid as the cutter. We're making cannoli for a dinner party at the end of January. We love them, and the dessert theme is Jersey Boys so we had to make cannoli :-)

Wow, Joe! Thanks! Maybe your mother would appreciate knowing her recipe made many people smile. You answered my round vs. square question nicely. What kind of oil did she use?

I'd love to have your filling recipe. The one I used was the one I wing which if I continue to use will have to be standardized for consistency. I used half mascarpone/half whole ricotta sweetened to taste with powdered sugar, some Amaretto, and some orange zest. Whipped until fluffy. The best mascarpone price I found was at Trader Joe. I coated the insides of the shells with Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate which seemed to do a good job of keeping the shells crisp according to the reports from cannoli recipients. Since they will sit in a cold dessert case at the café, this is good.

I'm not looking to downgrade the ingredients. I do think freshly made shells are going to taste far better than the packaged shells I could purchase.

Here is a link that might be useful: The previous cannoli thread.

What about using a pizzelle iron? Maybe you could borrow one and give it a try. They can be molded from flat to round while warm.

FILLING:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds Ricotta cheese

Whip the ricotta until creamy. (For extra smoothness/creaminess, push the ricotta through a strainer.) Dissolve the sugar in warmed cream and then whip it with the ricotta and sugar.

Fill the shells with a spoon or bastry bag.

My mother would usually add 1/2 cup of shaved chocolate to the filling mix but not always. With chocolate so popular nowadays, I think there's some creative ideas possible.

The filling also can be made with candied fruits, finely chopped pistachios or small chocolate chips instead of the shaved chocolate.

And she'd usually dip the ends of the filled cannolis into chopped toasted nuts (walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, almonds); or tiny chocolate chips or more shaved chocolate; you'll need about a cup.

For presentaion, she'd dust with powdered sugar.

[Barnmom: The "oil" was always shortening.]

Ricotta -- pronounced "rrrih-gho-tha", not "wrii-kott-ta".

Joe

I think I will fill them with a pastry bag. Using a spoon was very slow.

Shortening as in Crisco?

Pizzelle iron? I wonder... it might make it easier not to have to deep fry but they'd be a different result. I don't want to mess with the end result too much as the café owner was pleased with what she ate. And once I deliver a product it will need to be consistent.

As I remember, when my mother delivered cannolis as gifts for a special dinner (which she did often), she always brought them with the filling and shells separated and made them before actual serving. She knew, just as you, that the filled shells become soft quickly.

I've been to many restaurants that didn't make their own cannolis from scratch but did have the filling and shells separate and would fill them just before serving. It's an option.

Personally, I like the taste of straight-up cannolis -- without chocolate.

Joe

"Shortening" as in Crisco, yes.

Funny, though, she had "Spry" written on all her hand-written recipes for anything that included shortening. But she'd always use Crisco.

I vaguely remember the brand "Spry" when I was a kid but haven't seen it in years. Is it still available?

When I make cannoli shells now, I use Crisco Trans-Fat Free and a good splash of peanut oil thrown in after the shortening has completely melted.

"Cannoli" = pronounced "guh-no-lee", not "kan-no-lee". IN Sicilian, our "c"'s are "g"'s.

Joe

I like them straight up, too, Joe. No chocolate. I'm afraid that they will have to be made periodically not as they are ordered. The chocolate coating solves the soft shell issue for a time. This is not the sort of place that will fill them as they are ordered. It's a walk up counter espresso and internet joint. Think Starbucks with more personality and some sandwiches on the menu.

My mom made hundreds of cannolis each holiday season. She'd spend days making just the shells. And she'd store the shells in those great big 5-gallon restaurant bulk cans with lids. She'd stack them with waxed paper in between the layers. Even after weeks, they were still crisp.

When you start selling your future "world-famous" cannolis to the better restaurants, offer BOTH the chocolate-coated AND the straight-up.

Joe

Restaurant supply. You should be able to have them order you a round (or square) tool that will cut the shapes. Basically, it functions like a big stainless cookie cutter.

I'm not going to rain on your parade, but give a thought to the problems of home-making a food product for resale without certification for health dept and liability insurance, especially in CA. Should anyone decide to point a finger at your product as cause for a food-bourne illness -- whether they have just cause or NOT -- the liability is both on the cafe owner AND you...but mostly on you. And then the burden of proof that everything was handled correctly will be moot because of lack of certifications and inspections, but the impetus will fall back to you as the manufacturer.

Double ditto what Joe's pointed out about factoring ALL associated costs.

Renee, I'll be using the café owner's kitchen. We already discussed this.

I should have known you'd have thought of that. :)

Joe...I am laughing at your pronunciation.

I am half Sicilian and half Napoletan (don't ask!) and we always said 'ga-nooool' (canoli), fa-zooool (faglioli), ree-goht (ricotta), sfoo-ya-del (cant spell this pastries name), gah-choff-ala (artichoke), mutz-ah-elle (mozzarella) and gol-a-my (calamari).

All of my friends, regardless of race, religion, or whatever know how to say these words..anything else....as Steve Martin said in 'My Blue Heaven'.....'hurts my ears'!

s

No Italian blood here! A bit of French, some Spaniard. Some American mongrel. I'm sure I butcher all of it.