Leave the gun, take the cannoli... cookie

If you've never had a cannoli... you have not yet lived!

So I was thinking about cannoli recently, which is to say I think of it often because it's so awesomesauce-ly delicious. As a girl with a sweet tooth the size of a mastodon, I consider myself a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to desserts. And cannoli is right at the top. There was a two year stretch where my birthday cake request was simply a dozen cannolis (with chocolate dipped shells!). So it's surprising that it wasn't until two days ago that I thought of turning it into a sandwich cookie. It's certainly easier to make than the real deal, who wants a bunch of uni-tasker metal tubes cluttering their kitchen drawer?

So I did my research. What is in a cannoli anyway? What makes it so cannoli-esque? Several recipes I found include marsala wine as a key ingredient in the shell. Of course there's the pistachios, the citron, the creamy ricotta goodness. 

For my first attempt I tried to make a cookie based on a recipe for a cannoli shell, with the main difference being the shell would be baked instead of fried. Epic failure. The dough was so dry, even letting it rest did no good. After carefully rolling it out and baking the little dough disks, I succeeded in making hard tack instead of the flaky, crusty cookie I was envisioning. But the marsala added a nice flavor.

On the second attempt, I abandoned the cannoli shell recipe and simply created an actual cookie recipe featuring the marsala. By the way, if you can't find marsala wine in the wine section (like I couldn't,) try the cooking section. It's a cooking wine I guess so they leave it out near the vinegars.

The Kitchn featured a guest post from Katie of goodLife {eats} with a cannoli cookie recipe that served as my main inspiration for my cannoli cookie sandwich. With some minor differences in ingredients and execution, they're pretty similar. Great minds think alike I guess!

And without further ado, I present my:

Cannoli Cookie Sandwiches

The cookie:

2 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 c marsala wine (or other dry red wine)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c chopped pistachios (optional)

Turbinado sugar (optional)

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the marsala, egg and vanilla until thoroughly incorporated. Gradually mix in dry ingredients. Fold in pistachios.

Using a cookie disher, scoop out cookies onto greased cookie sheets (or get yourself some silicon mats!) Pat down dough balls slightly, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before sandwich-izing them.

The filling:

The Holy Kitchen-Aid
of Awesome

1 15 oz. tub of ricotta cheese

1/2 c cream cheese

1 c powdered sugar

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/2 c chocolate chips (mini works best)

Whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the ricotta cheese and mix thoroughly. Mix in powdered sugar and lemon extract. Fold in chocolate chips.

I used a freezer bag as a piping bag for the filling, but you can get it on the cookies however you like. I drizzled melted chocolate over the cookies for some extra curb appeal. Another idea is to take some finely chopped pistachios, or even finely chopped maraschino cherries to stick on the edges.  Mmm!!!

A note about the filling, you'll probably end up with more filling than there are cookies to fill. Either cut the recipe in half or just eat the rest later. ;)