Ready To Make the Easiest No-Bake Mini Cannoli Pies Ever?
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For an easy no-bake dessert, try these Mini Cannoli Pies that are creamy and delicious and the perfect sizes for parties and entertaining! Making traditional cannoli is a lengthy process, so these pies using mini ready-baked pie crusts full of ricotta and mascarpone and topped with chocolate chips is a game changer!
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Mini Cannoli Pies
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions and to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required as well as understand the steps and timings involved.
Cannoli are Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta—a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They range in size from 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) to 7.5 inches (19 cm). In mainland Italy, they are commonly known as cannoli siciliani (Sicilian cannoli).
Wikipedia
If you’ve ever had a cannoli before you will know how delicious they are! But not necessarily the sort of thing you would want to tackle at home. Maybe because you are not very good at making pastry, or because you don’t like to deep-fry foods in your kitchen.
So why not make these pies instead! They are an absolute cinch to make and taste so good!
You don’t have to make pastry cases for the pies because you can buy them ready-made from the grocery store.
The pie crusts used in this recipe are Keebler Ready Crust Graham Pie Crust, and come in a box of six. They are approximately 4″/10cm wide.
Use whatever brand or size available to you – this recipe makes 12 mini pies.
For a party, why not fill up tiny pastry tart shells and make these into even smaller pies as yummy finger foods!
What you won’t get from the pie crusts though, is the distinct cannoli pastry flavor which comes from the addition of wine to the dough.
But what you will get is all of that cannoli filling creaminess using ricotta* and powdered sugar. This recipe also uses mascarpone and whipped cream to lighten the mixture.
There are also chocolate chips in the filling as well as the uplifting flavor of lemon zest.
*The ricotta has to be strained overnight, so leave time for that when preparing this yummy dessert.
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
You may have some of the ingredients for this recipe in your kitchen already – the full list with measurements is found in the recipe card.
For your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon if available online.
- Ricotta – a soft Italian curd cheese made from whey, which is drained and then lightly ‘cooked’. It is light and creamy with a slightly grainy texture and delicate flavour. (BBC Food)
- Powdered Sugar – known as Icing Sugar in the UK
- Mascarpone – a thick, creamy, soft Italian cheese with a high-fat content.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – always buy the best you can afford, it really does make a flavor difference.
- Mini Chocolate Chips
- Mini Pie Crusts – the ones in this recipe are about 4″/10cm, but use whatever you can find in your area.
This recipe uses American cups. They’re a handy piece of kitchen equipment to have along with a kitchen food scale. Having both in your kitchen means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog as I use both cups and weighted measures.
Cannoli Filling Ideas
Once you know how to make the basic filling you can easily adapt it with other flavor combinations, instead of using chocolate chips and lemon.
Here are a few combos for you to experiment with:
- Pistachio and Lemon
- Chocolate and Cherry
- Pumpkin Spice and Coffee
- Peanut Butter and Strawberries
More Pie Recipes
Looking for more pies to make? Check these recipes out next:
- Mini Pumpkin Pies with Whipped Cream Topping
- Delicious & Easy Lemon Hand Pies
- Homemade Apple Pie a la Mode (with No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream!)
How Do I Make Mini Cannoli Pies?
Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients, instructions, and demonstration photos. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, the pics don’t print to save your ink!).
Mini Cannoli Pies
For an easy no-bake dessert, try these Mini Cannoli Pies that are creamy and delicious and the perfect sizes for parties and entertaining!
Ingredients
- 16 oz / 450g whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1¼ cup heavy cream (double cream)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar), divided
- ¾ cup mascarpone
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips, plus extra to top with
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 12 mini pie crusts
Instructions
- Drain ricotta in a strainer over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. Discard the liquid that drains out.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer, place the cream and a half cup of powdered sugar into a bowl.
- Beat on medium speed until cream begins to firm up and look like whipped cream. Do not overmix.
- Transfer to another bowl and wash out the mixing bowl.
- Place the strained ricotta and the other half cup of powdered sugar into the cleaned mixing bowl.
- Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add the mascarpone and vanilla extract and beat on low until combined, about 30 seconds. Do not overmix.
- Add whipped cream and beat on low until combined, about 20 seconds.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and lemon zest with a rubber spatula or spoon.
- Divide the filling between the 12 mini pie crusts.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips before serving. Enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1162Total Fat: 75gSaturated Fat: 33gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 36gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 881mgCarbohydrates: 108gFiber: 6gSugar: 25gProtein: 17g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal!
- Appetizer: Oven-Roasted Fall Harvest Soup with Butternut Squash & Apples
- Main Dish: One-Pan Chicken Cacciatore – Italian Hunter’s Stew
- Side Dish: Italian Roasted Vegetables Recipe
- Side Salad: Roasted Artichoke Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Beverage: Prosecco Cocktail with Blackberry
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!