A tender, almond-flavored cookie becomes the perfect vehicle for a light and creamy cannoli topping. Speckled with mini chocolate chips, they’re sweet bites of heaven.
If you don’t live on the east coast, you might have difficulty finding a quality Italian bakery. So this recipe is perfect when you’re craving a classic cannoli. And best of all, there’s no deep-frying required.
The addition of almond extract in the cookie base makes them taste like Italian amaretti cookies.
Then, fresh-whipped cream and ricotta make a silky icing that’s dotted with bits of chocolate. They taste like high-quality cannolis and pair beautifully with espresso.
If you’d like to make more European-style cookies, you have options. Homemade Vanilla Biscotti is another perfect complement to any coffee drink. For a more delicate treat, Orange Madeleines are a French classic. And Chocolate Madeleines are equally special.
Why You’ll Love These Cannoli Cookies
- They’re ready to serve in about half an hour from start to finish.
- Enjoy all the flavor of a real cannoli with way less work.
- They’re baked, not fried!
- They’re delicious and pretty enough to impress your guests.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Heavy Cream – Whipped cream creates a lighter cannoli topping.
- Ricotta Cheese – Ricotta makes the topping taste like real cannoli filling. Use whole-milk ricotta for the best flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Tiny chocolate chips look great and add texture.
- Powdered Sugar – Provides structure to the topping, helping it to hold its shape.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds sweet vanilla flavor to the cookies and the topping.
- Almond Extract – Gives a delicate almond flavor to the cookie base. Be sure to use almond extract, not almond oil.
- Flour – This essential ingredient creates structure in the cookie base.
- Baking Powder – Helps the cookie rise and have a lighter texture.
- Salt – Balances out the flavors.
- Butter – Blends with sugar to give natural leavening and rich flavor.
- Sugar – Adds sweet flavor to the cookie and keeps it moist.
- Egg – Adds richness to the cookies and helps bind them together.
Variations
- For chocolate pistachio cannoli cookies, add ⅓ cup of finely chopped pistachios to the ricotta mixture.
- Add the zest of one orange to the cookie batter to add orange flavor. You can also zest another orange into the ricotta topping.
- Make a cookie sandwich with extra filling in the middle for an extra fun way to eat these. Then roll the exposed filling in more mini chocolate chips.
Helpful Tools
- Mixer – A stand or electric hand mixer makes creaming and whipping easier.
- Cookie Scoop – This can help ensure all your cookies turn out the same size. Use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop for this recipe.
- Rubber Spatula – This makes it easy to scrape your mixing bowls and fold chocolate chips into the cream topping.
- Baking Sheet – Lighter baking sheets are less likely to over bake keeping the bottom of the cookie tender.
- Parchment Paper or Silpat – Lining your baking sheet with one of these helps prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan.
- Wire Cooling Rack – It is ideal for cooling the cookies so they don’t collect moisture.
How to Make Cannoli Cookies
- Make the Dough
- Bake
- Allow to Cool
- Make Cannoli Cream and Frost
Tips
- For a prettier topping, you can pipe on the ricotta mixture. Using a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe a swirl of the topping onto each cookie.
- Don’t skimp on the mini chocolate chips. Full-sized chocolate chips will be too big and crunchy to use as the topping. If you can’t find them, chop a chocolate bar into tiny pieces.
- For the best cookie texture, make sure your butter is at room temperature before creaming it.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make the ricotta topping 1 day ahead of time. If it separates at all or looks flat the day after you’ve made it, just give it a quick whip with your mixer before using it.
If you already have low-fat ricotta on hand, feel free to use it. However, for the best taste, I recommend using whole-milk ricotta.
Sometimes cannoli filling does contain mascarpone. If you’d like to use it in this recipe, substitute half of the ricotta with mascarpone before whipping.
How To Store
- Room Temperature – Once cooled, store plain cookies in an airtight container. Keep them at room temperature for up to 5 days and top them when ready to serve.
- Refrigerate – Once your cookies have the creamy topping on them, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 2-3 days.
- Freeze – To freeze, your best bet is to freeze baked cookies before they’re topped. Store in a freezer-safe plastic bag with wax paper between any layers. Then thaw completely before topping and eating.
Cannoli Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Cannoli Topping
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined.
- Stir in flour mixture until fully incorporated.
- Scoop dough into walnut sized balls (about 1 ½ tablespoons each), and flatten each to between ¼ and ½ inch thickness.
- Place on cookie sheet with about 2 inches of space between each, and bake in center of preheated oven for about 10 minutes until cookies lose their sheen and are set on the edges.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- While the cookies cool, beat whipped cream to stiff peaks, then beat in ricotta, powdered, sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Spread about 2 tablespoons of whipped mixture over each cookie.
Notes
Tips
- For a prettier topping, you can pipe on the ricotta mixture. Using a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe a swirl of the topping onto each cookie.
- Don’t skimp on the mini chocolate chips. Full-sized chocolate chips will be too big and crunchy to use as the topping. If you can’t find them, chop a chocolate bar into tiny pieces.
- For the best cookie texture, make sure your butter is at room temperature before creaming it.
Leave a Comment