Cannoli Ice Cream Sandwiches

Soft cannoli dough baked into cookies filled with smooth and creamy homemade sweet ricotta filling and dipped in chocolate!

Butchie and I had a heck of a time Monday night. We were going to make up some scrumptious cannoli with the homemade ricotta I had made on Saturday night. However, here is a fact: some stores in DC think it’s acceptable to close before the majority of people in DC are even off work. The store I’m referring to, which will remain nameless, is the only one I could find that would have molds for frying the aforementioned cannoli molds, but Butchie and I have jobs, and couldn’t make it up before an absurdly early 6pm.

[Here, editor Butchie redacted several paragraphs grousing about how annoying it is to get to various shopping locations in DC, particularly given our lackluster WMATA. Cities are a pain. The end. –B.]

So……we made do. We’ve learned to be scrappy and keep going. Instead of being properly frying our cannoli shells, we baked them into cookies! The rest of the recipe was about the same with a little more cream cheese. Victory! In your face, abhorrent closing time.

Anyway, poor Butchie had to hear my rants all evening. I was much more pleasant after dinner [That’s true generally. Are you grumpy? Have you eaten lately? Check your blood sugar. –B.], but I still can’t believe any DC store would close at 6. It’s ludicrous. But out of adversity comes...I don’t know. What is it they write in fortune cookies? No idea. For us, out of adversity come cannoli ice cream sandwich cookies!

Homemade Ricotta

2 quarts whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Line a large sieve with two layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Slowly bring milk, cream, and salt to a rolling boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain for a few minutes. After discarding the liquid, chill the ricotta, covered. It will last two days or you can freeze it (my refrigerator has poor temperature control).

Cannoli Ice Cream Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick unsalted butter

1 large egg, separated

3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add butter and blend in with your fingertips until combined. Add yolk and stir until a dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Roll out between two sheets of wax paper, cut into to rounds, and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake for 8 minutes. Allow to cool.

While the cookies are cooling make the filling. Stir together the ricotta, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Allow to chill for half an hour.

Place filling into a piping bag and pipe onto inverted cookies, placing a second cookie on top to form a sandwich. Place cookies on a lined baking sheet in the freezer for one hour.

If desired you may melt chocolate and dip on half of the frozen cookie in and refreeze.

Enjoy!