Gluten-Free Cannoli #Recipe by @LibbyKlein #Thanksgiving

Libby Klein I warned you when I got my Pizzelle iron that I'd be obnoxious with the recipes. This was the recipe that inspired me to buy the iron in the first place. I love Cannoli, but the shells are hard to make and you can't buy them gluten-free that I've ever seen. When I saw cannoli shells made from Pizzelles I bought the iron right away. They are still time-consuming since you can only make one at a time. And my fingers were rather pink and complainy from rolling the hot cookies around a form and holding them until they cooled. This was a lot of fun to do - once. Maybe once every few years. By the time I was finished rolling all of them, I was reconsidering my love of cannolis in the first place. Isn't this why I make cannoli cake? Here is the recipe for Pizzelles in case you missed it. I've changed it a bit for the cannoli. 

For this recipe, you'll need a pizzelle iron, something tube-shaped to wrap the hot cookies around. A cannoli rod would be perfect if you have any but I used the handle on a whisk. And a pair of tongs to protect your fingers since you have to hold the cookie in place until it cools. 

Gluten-Free Cannoli

Ingredients for the shells

1 stick of butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup Sherry
1 ¾ cups gluten-free flour that contains xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of cinnamon

Ingredients for the Filling

16 oz Whole Milk Ricotta, strained
8 oz Mascarpone 
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon sherry
pinch of cinnamon
zest of orange peel
mini chocolate chips
chopped pistachios

Directions:

Melt butter and set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs and sugar until pale yellow. Add the melted butter and the sherry. Beat until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, and pinch of cinnamon and whisk together. Add to the wet ingredients and only mix enough to combine. Fold the rest of the way while scraping the sides of the bowl. Set aside and this batter will thicken while you heat your pizzelle iron.

Drop 1 Tablespoon of batter just slightly north of the center of the pattern. Press the iron lid down but not too aggressively. Remember the squelching out the sides issue from before. Let the cookies bake about 2 minutes. You can peek and check on them and leave them on the iron until they are golden brown. 

Remove them with tongs or a spatula and immediately roll them around a tube form to cool and get crispy. When they are cool, remove from the tube and set aside.

When you have finished making all your shells and you've recovered enough to forgive me, begin making your filling.

Most recipes call for straining the ricotta. I think it depends on how loose your ricotta is because there was nothing to strain with mine. If yours seems a little loose, wrap it with cheesecloth and place it in a sieve in the refrigerator for several hours.

Chop your pistachios. Gently fold together the Ricotta, Mascarpone, sherry, powdered sugar, cinnamon and orange zest. 

Fill a pastry bag with your cannoli filling and pipe into each shell. You will pipe first one end then the other. Don't try to shoot it all the way through from one end. It goes farther than you'd think. So I've been told.

Dip the ends in the mini chocolate chips and chopped pistachios and dust with powdered sugar.

The shells will soften fairly quickly, so I recommend filling them right before you serve them. They won't keep for long in the refrigerator once they're filled. A week at best. Whereas the unfilled shells are good for a couple months. If you try these, let me know how you did. And if you don't need to be gluten-free, then for the love of God just buy yourself cannoli shells from your local Italian supplier. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Poppy McAllister discovers that gluten-free Halloweens can scare up another case of murder in the latest installment of this delightful culinary B&B mystery series! - Kirkus Reviews

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .
 
While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . .
 
Includes Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!
 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/