Holy Moly! Homemade Cereal Cannolis

I’ve been wanting to make cannolis for a while now. Largely due to the fact that I had a giant bag of dehydrated marshmallows lying around (as in a whole bag of the best part of Lucky Charms cereal) that I really wanted to use. SO, I enlisted Linda, yet again, to work her magic on a new recipe. And the results are delicious!

Want to make your own? Here’s what you’ll need…

Ingredients

– 1 dozen cannoli shells (store-bought*)
– 1 pkg white melting chocolate
– gel food coloring (optional)
– dehydrated marshmallows, chopped
– 16 oz mascarpone cheese
– 16 oz ricotta cheese, drained
– 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
– 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/4 tsp lemon extract
– 1/4 tsp salt
– heavy cream (adjust amount as desired)

*We cut down the prep time by using pre-made cannoli shells. You can find premade cannoli shells at your local Italian grocery and some specialty food stores as well.

Instructions

1. Melt the chocolate according to the instructions on the package and tint it using the gel coloring. You can also make two colors by splitting one package of chocolate in half and will still have enough to dip a dozen shells.

2. Dip each end of the cannoli shells in the chocolate. Then, sprinkle the marshmallows on, before the chocolate cools. Set the cannoli shells aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix the cheeses, sugar, vanilla, lemon extract, and salt together thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Add one tablespoon of cream at a time to lighten the mixture. We used about 2 tablespoons for our cannoli filling. We were going for a texture that was rich, but spoonable and not too heavy.

4. Fill a plastic bag with the cheese mixture. Twist the top to move the mixture towards one corner. Snip off the corner and pipe the mixture into the cannoli shells.

5. Add more marshmallows to the ends and serve.

Recipe by Linda Jednaszewski
Concept, photography, and styling by Brittni Mehlhoff

Think you’ll give these colorful cannolis a try?