Soft, fluffy ricotta cookies filled with mini chocolate chips and finished with melted semi-sweet chocolate. These Cannoli Cookies are a unique, delicious treat!
12 Days of Holiday Treats
Today I am starting a series: SugarSpicesLife 12 Days of Holiday Treats! I am so excited!! It has actually been my goal to do this the past two years, but I wasn’t able to get it together for various reasons. (*Editor’s note: the treats have always been made. So “various reasons” mostly translates to them being eaten prior to being photographed)
This year I started early to ensure that I would have plenty of treats to gift and would have recipes ready to share by December 1st! My goal is for this to become an annual event!
12 Days of Holiday Treats: Day 1
Inspiration
I’ve mentioned before that I went to optometry school in Boston. Having grown up and gone to college in small towns, Boston was a big new adventure for me! One of my favorite things: the food.
Shortly after moving to Boston, I visited the North End (an area of the city with streets filled with Italian restaurants). It was life changing. And the most life changing thing: visiting Mike’s Pastry.
Before visiting Mike’s, I had not had the pleasure of eating cannoli. It kinda turned out to be a shame that Mike’s was my first cannoli experience, because almost nothing has compared since.
When coming up with holiday treats, I knew I couldn’t easily give out cannolis, as they wouldn’t stay good for long enough in a box. So, I decided to make my version of a Cannoli Cookie.
Ricotta Cookies
I know someone reading this is probably thinking, “aren’t these just ricotta cookies?” Well, yes. But, I made this particular cannoli cookie to mimic my favorite chocolate chip cannoli that’s dipped in chocolate. So, I’m calling these Cannoli Cookies!
Using Ricotta
For this recipe, use 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, and do NOT drain the ricotta. The recipes counts on using the fat and the liquid from the ricotta.
Extracts
These recipes use two extracts:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
If you really like almond, you can add more, but remember that almond extract has a strong flavor, so a tiny bit more goes a long way.
Chocolate
I wanted these cookies to have chocolate flavor, without being a chocolate cookie. So, for this recipe I mixed 6 ounces of mini-chocolate chips into the dough.
And after the cookies were baked and cooled, I dipped some of the cookies halfway into chocolate, and drizzled the remaining cookies with melted chocolate.
Taste Notes
These cookies are soft, fluffy, and not overly sweet. They’re perfect for a person who loves cannoli, or a person who prefers less sugary desserts.
My kids would eat sugar by the bag if I would let them. They’re not fans of cheesecake, cannoli, or cannoli cookies. Now, will they eat these cannoli cookies? Absolutely. But, they’d prefer a sugar cookie.
So, if you’re thinking about making these for children, keep that in mind. But also keep in mind that may be an ideal situation as it means more for you!
These Cannoli Cookies are a delicious, unique cookie that will be sure to be on your annual cookie baking list!
Cannoli Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 6 ounces mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Topping
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons shortening
Instructions
Cookies
- Using electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat butter and sugar and lightened and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Mix in eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides as needed.
- Add in ricotta, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix until well combined, again scraping down sides as needed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cornstarch. Slowly mix into ricotta mixture until well combined.
- Stir in mini chocolate chips. Chill dough for at least 1 hour (okay to chill overnight as well).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Form dough into ~1.5 tablespoon sided balls. Place balls at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 13-14 minutes, or until tops are a light golden brown. Let cool completely before topping.
Topping
- In a double boiler, or a metal bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate and shortening. Stir frequently.
- Dip half of individual cookies in melted chocolate. Shake off excess chocolate. Place cookies on parchment paper or a cooling rack. Alternatively, drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the cookies.
Disclaimer: All nutritional information provided on this website is an estimate only and is not guaranteed.
If you enjoyed these Cannoli Cookies, you may also enjoy these other SugarSpicesLife recipes:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Triple Chocolate Cookies
Crispy Top Fudgy Brownies
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Cookie Press Cookies (Spritz Cookies)
Looks delicious! 😋
Thank you!!
I just made these and they are delicious, added some pistachios and a little more almond extract. Will be making more next week. So easy and yummy