Cannoli
Filling
3 Cups of Ricotta cheese (do not use low fat)
1 ¼ cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
½ cup finely chopped candied Citron (optional) I don?t use it
¼ cup semi sweet chocolate pieces
Pastry
3 cups of flour
¼ cup of sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of shortening
2 Eggs- Well beaten makes it real airy
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
2 tablespoons cold water
2 ounces Pistachio nuts (this is optional) in my opinion.
1 egg white lightly beaten
For Filling: Combine and beat until smooth all ingredients (around 10min.) with an electric mixer. Stir in, mixing thoroughly citron (optional) and chocolate pieces. Place mixture in refrigerator to chill.
For Pastry Shells: sift together the first four ingredients into a bowl. Cut shortening in with a pastry blender if you have one until the pieces are the size of small peas. Stir in eggs. Blend in a tablespoon at a time the vinegar and cold water. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes. Use a small amount of additional flour if necessary to get the smooth dough. Wrap in waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Set out six aluminum Cannoli tubes. You will need either a deep fryer or a deep saucepan. Use vegetable oil, olive oil breaks down to fast at high temps. Heat to 360 degrees. Finely chop the pistachios if you are gong to use them. Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface to about a 1/8?? thick. Cut the dough into the size needed to lightly wrap around the pastry tube overlapping the ends. Seal the edges by brushing the ends with egg whites. Press the edges together.
Fry only as many as you can so when they are done they can float easily. About 8 minutes or until golden brown. Let the tubes cool slightly before removing the pastry from the tube.
When ready to serve, fill the shells with the filling. Sprinkle the ends with the nuts if you want and dust with the confectionary sugar.
ENJOY TOM