A few years ago, my then-roommate Allison and I were broke college students who could barely afford to pay our rent and cable bills, let alone buy anything for anyone else. When we realized Father's Day was just around the corner, we panicked a bit. Dads are hard enough to shop for in the first place (I swear they have everything they want, and how many years of football-themed gifts can you really give them?) but throw being penniless into the mix and there's nothing you can get them. Moms like heart-felt cards, or collages of pictures, or hand-written poems, but dads... what do dads like that you don't have to spend a lot of money on?
Well, for one, dads like cannoli.
With this revelation, Allison and I decided to make mini cannoli cups for Father's Day with ingredients we had in the house already, ingredients that happened to make our mini cannoli much less guilt-inducing than your typical, traditional cannoli would be. Guess what? They were still amazing, and no one could get enough of them. No one could believe that they weren't insanely bad for you. But they weren't. Not at all.
I say "no one could believe" because we made a ton of them-- too many to give them all to our dads, so we shared them with friends who came to the house over the next day or so, but they didn't last long at all. A bunch of people asked for the recipe, but I couldn't quite remember and never got around to recreating it. Well, not until I thought to make those mini cannoli even simpler and more share-able by turning them into a dip!
This recipe is perfect for any party, and with the Super Bowl coming up, it's great for those who want something sweet and light (and insanely easy to make). After all, you want to leave room for all of the buffalo chicken goodness to be had! Serve this dip with wafers, strawberries, or graham crackers, and enjoy!
Special thanks to James for always being my hand model. (He also gets to be the taste-tester, so I guess it's not that bad of a deal, but still.)
Try your hand at hand modeling (or leave your hands out of it, if you'd prefer) and take a photo of your Cannoli Dip for Instagram. Tag #hostthetoast so I can check it out!
Cannoli Dip
Ingredients
- 1 32oz container part skim or fat free ricotta cheese
- â…“ cup powdered sugar
- 1 container fat-free cool whip, thawed
- 1 ½ - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Mini chocolate chips, to top
- Chopped pistachios, to top
- Fresh orange zest, to top
- Wafers, strawberries, or graham crackers, to dip
Instructions
- Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl.
- Top with mini chocolate chips, chopped pistachios, and orange zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Serve with dippers of your choice.
Jami says
Hey Morgan, what kind of dipping materials is James using in the pictures? Thinking about making this for my Super Bowl party
Morgan says
These were butter crisps that we found at Wegman's. I looked up the link so you can see them: http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=357681
Jami says
Awesome thanks!
Tiff says
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Morgan says
Thanks, Tiff!
gwen says
My husband likes cannoli and we only get them when we are down in the States at our sailboat in Holland, Michigan. I think i'll make this for Valentine's Day!
Anne Katherine says
Is this okay without pistachios?
Morgan says
Absolutely!
Lindsay N. says
These look amazing! I love cannoli but they always leave me feeling kind of bloated and sluggish. A lightened version is exactly what I need!
Laurahe says
OMG it was delicious. I made it yesterday for a movie night with my friends and we couldn't stop eating. I served it with these rolled up crispy wafers. Thank you very much for sharing!
Morgan says
I'm so glad you and you friends enjoyed it! A movie night with Cannoli Dip sounds great =)
Rachel says
This looks delicious! Is there any substitute for the cool whip? I'm not a fan since I find it is extremely processed.
Morgan says
Thanks, Rachel. Something Swanky has a recipe for homemade cool whip that might be a good solution for you! You can find the recipe here: http://www.somethingswanky.com/homemade-cool-whip/
Linda Anzalone Littlewood says
You don't need to cool whip replace it with mascarpone cheese.
You need to ring out the ricotta in cheese cloth or put in a paper towel lined strainer. This helps make it creamer. Ricotta does have a lot of water. You won't get the over blended look. Make sure you fold in the ingredients not stir. Enjoy
Jeannie says
What size container of cool whip did you use?
Morgan says
I believe that the standard sized container is 8 oz, but I will have to double-check when I get to the grocery store next to make sure.
Sarah says
Making this tomorrow night for a Mom's Night Out! Looks so delicious--cannot wait to try it!!
Morgan says
Awesome, hope you love it!
patricia says
I used the blender to mix it ..should i have hand stirred it?
Morgan says
I have never tried doing that. Did it turn out okay, taste and texture-wise?
Janette says
yummy...
Melissa says
Hi! I made this delicious filling as a dip for my daughters Culture Day @ school tomorrow. It came out a little thin. I even added a bit more powdered sugar to try & thicken it a little. I followed directions to a T. What do you think I can do to thicken it some?
Linda Allen says
i have not tried it as I just found it. It looks amazing in the picture. I cannot wait to surprise my family with the
receipe.
Could you substitute the ricotta cheese for cream cheese?
What is the brand of dippers did you use? That is what I am most excited about. Did you make them? Awesome!!!!
Cannot wait to see the answer.