Cannoli

Try This Italian Holiday Classic

Servings:Over 8
Difficulty: Moderate
Cook Time: 60-120 min
This traditional italian dessert is not as difficult as it looks to make. Make these for your
family this holiday season!
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting dough and work surface
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lard plus several cups for frying; may be replaced with vegetable
shortening, exact amount will depend on size of your pot
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 extra-large eggs
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 cups cannoli cream
Powdered (10x) sugar for dusting cannolis
Cooking Directions
Makes 10 cannolis.
Put the flour, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of the lard, vinegar, 1 egg, cinnamon, and
salt into a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment and mix on low-medium speed
until well combined, approximately 10 minutes. (There is no need to stop the motor to
scrape the sides because this dough will pull together into a ball when it's ready.)
Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap it in plastic wrap and let rest at room
temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours, to soften the dough and make it less
elastic.
Lightly coat the dough with flour and roll it through a pasta machine set to the thickest
setting (usually Number 1). If you do not have a pasta machine, use a rolling pin to roll
the dough out as thinly as possible on a lightly floured surface to no more than 1/8-inch
thick. Cut 5-inch-long ovals from the dough (see How To). Gather up the excess dough,
knead it together, roll it out, and cut ovals again. You should have 10 ovals.

Wrap 1 oval lengthwise around a 6-inch-long wooden dowel with a diameter of 3/4-inch
to 1-inch. Be very careful to wrap it loosely, leaving a little space between the dowel
and the pastry dough so that, when fried, the inside will be cooked as well.
Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to paint one end of the
shell with the egg. Pull the egg-brushed end over the opposite end, and press them
together, sealing the shell around the dowel.
Line a large plate or platter with paper towels.
Fill a wide, deep, heavy pot two-thirds full with lard and set over medium-high heat.
Heat the lard to a temperature of 350 degrees F to 375 degrees F.
Carefully lower the dowel into the oil and let fry until golden-brown, turning it as it
fries with a slotted spoon, approximately 10 minutes. Use the spoon to very carefully
remove the dowel from the lard and transfer to the paper-towel lined plate to cool.
When the shell is cool enough to touch, approximately 10 minutes, pull the dowel out.
Repeat steps 8 and 9 until all shells have been fried and removed from the dowel. (The
shells may be held in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months; I
urge you to not fill the cannoli more than 1 hour before serving them or they may
become soggy.)
When ready to fill and serve the cannoli, put the pastry cream into a pastry bag fitted
with the #7 plain tip. Pipe filling into each shell until it is filled and the cream sticks out
both ends.
Dust the finished cannoli with powdered sugar and serve.