Cannoli Cookie Sandwiches
I’ve always loved cannolis. I’d go out to this Italian restaurant in Potomac, Maryland, almost every weekend with my grandparents. Dinner would go by in a blur but when it came to desserts we’d always order two things: the cannoli and the tartufo (that’s another story, or maybe another cookie). The cannoli would come on a plain white plate, adorned with a simple dusting of powdered sugar. What more could you want? Letting your fork crack into those hard shells, there’s almost nothing like it in the dessert realm. The at once airiness and crispness, lightness yet richness. And I’ve been baking for about four years at this point and I’ve never ever attempted cannoli. The reason why is simple: I don’t have any cannoli molds and have no desire to by them. I can picture them sitting in my cabinet taking up space for years in the interim between when I have a desire to actually pull them out to make cannoli. I thought there had to be a way to achieve cannoli without those molds.
That’s why these cookies were born. Out of necessity, out of a mold-less desire, out of lust for ricotta filling. I had the idea that you could just make the same cannoli dough, punch them out as circles with a cookie cutter, fry them flat, and then assemble them as cookie sandwiches. Easy enough! The idea mostly works. I think they tend to puff up quite a bit more in this shape because there’s no mold keeping the air bubble at bay. It seems like a blessing in disguise though because it contributes to this lighter-than-air feeling when you sink your teeth into these cookie sandwiches.
Tips
When rolling out the dough, make sure to flour your counter and dough well to prevent sticking. Before cutting out the cookies, give the dough a final lift up and flouring to relax any tension in the dough that would lead to misshapen discs.
It’s best to transfer the cookie circles using an off-set spatula. It prevents warping the circles.
The cookies may puff up like beignets a bit. That’s fine, just sandwich them together and use more filling to fill in any gaps between the cookies.
20 sandwich cookies
Ingredients
For the dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour (280 g), plus more for kneading
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
½ tsp kosher salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, at room temperature (55g)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup dry white or marsala wine (120g)
For the filling:
32 oz grams ricotta (904g)
1 cup confectioners sugar (100g)
1/4 mascarpone cheese (56g)
For the assembly:
Enough neutral/vegetable/canola oil to cup up about 1 inch in your pan, about 2 cups
Powdered sugar
Mini chocolate chips and/or chopped pistachios
Directions
Make the dough: Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Add the butter and work it in with your finger tips until homogenous. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, remove 2 tbsp and discard. Mix wine into the eggs and then dump into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine with a fork and then knead a few times to fully incorporate. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for minimum 1 hour, maximum 2 days.
Meanwhile make the filling: Add the ricotta to a clean tea/kitchen towel. Over a bowl squeeze a lot of water out of the ricotta; do this for a few minutes. Discard the water. Scrape ricotta into the bowl. Add the powdered sugar and mascarpone. Mix to combine. (If you want this mixture to be extra creamy, process in a food processor for 30 seconds-1 minute). Use immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.
Roll out dough: Split dough in half, keep 1 half covered. On a well-floured surface, roll out one piece of dough until 1/8 in. thick. Using a round 2 in. circle cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out as many circle as you can. Transfer circles to a well-floured baking sheet. Repeat with other half of dough. Gather all the scraps and repeat again. You should have about 40 circles (more if they’re smaller, fewer if they’re larger).
Fry the cookies: In a medium saucepan, add enough oil to come up about 1 inch high. Heat over medium-high heat. Once the oil registers about 375F on a cooking thermometer, add maybe 6 circles to the oil. Fry about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel-lined wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough, moderating heat to maintain 350F-375F. Let cookies cool.
Assemble: Transfer filling to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4 in. round tip (or don’t and just use a small spatula). Pipe a healthy amount of filling on the flatter side of a cookie round and top with another cookie half. Press down lightly to adhere. Roll edges in mini chocolate chips or chopped pistachios. Repeat with remaining cookies. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. These are best the day they’re made but will last for about 5 days covered in the refrigerator.
