Air Fryer Cannoli

Air Fryer Cannoli there is nothing like a great dessert, and the air fryer delivered on one of my favorite desserts.

Being from an Italian family has its drawbacks, one of them being most meals end with a pastry. I guess there could be worse things. But my favorite and one of the most common Italian Pastries is the Cannoli.

If you are not familiar with dessert cannoli, I hope you will treat yourself soon. It’s a hard pastry shell filled with a creamy, rich Ricotta filling. Truly amazing. And today, I used mini chocolate chips and crushed pistachios for an even better taste.

Air Fryer Cannoli

The Cannoli Shell:

This cannoli shell is amazingly easy to make, and the air fryer does an amazing job at crisping up the shell to absolute perfection.

Most traditional cannolis shells are tubed shape, so in order to copy that, I purchased a simple cannoli mold on Amazon (affiliate link)

Ingredients For The Shell:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar
• Sea Salt
• Butter
• Egg Yolk
• Dry White Wine

The Cannoli Filling:

The traditional cannoli filling is made by a mixture of ricotta cheese, which is really a strained cheese, or whey. It’s thicker than regular cheese.

Ingredients For The Cannoli Filling:

• Ricotta Cheese
• Powdered Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon
• Heavy Whipping Cream

Simple Instructions For Making Air Fryer Cannoli–

• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. Add the cold butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter until it forms coarse crumbs. You can also use a fork, 2 butter knives, or your hands for this. Stir in the egg yolk and wine until combined; dough will be crumbly.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured clean work surface and press/knead it into a dough ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
• In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, powdered sugar, and ground cinnamon until combined, set aside.
• Place the whipping cream in a large bowl, and with a hand mixer, mix until stiff peaks form about two minutes. Gently fold the whipped cream into the ricotta mixture and place this into the refrigerator until you really assemble your cannoli.
• If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat it to 400 degrees F, air fryer setting. Take the dough and cut it into 4ths, take one fourth and place it on a lightly floured clean work surface. Place the remaining dough back into the refrigerator.
• Roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out 4-inch circles; depending on how thin you rolled out the dough, you can get 4-5 circles.
• Spray the cannoli forms with cooking spray, wrap the dough around the form, and secure the edges where it meets with a small amount of water. Just dip your fingertip into the water. That’s enough. Press down gently to seal. Repeat with the remaining circles of dough you are working with.
• Spray the inside of your air fryer basket. Spray the outside of the dough. Air fry for 4 to 6 minutes until golden brown. Using tongs, remove the shells and take the shells off the cannoli forms. Caution they are extremely hot.
• Repeat with the remaining shells. If you have to reuse the cannoli forms, let them cool completely between batches. Let the shells cool completely. Once cooled, pipe the filling into the shells. Dip the ends into chocolate chips or pistachios. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you can, pipe the cannoli to serve instead of assembling them all and letting them sit. This will help keep the shells crisp.
• Plate, serve, and enjoy!

Some Common Questions Asked About Making Homemade Air Fryer Cannoli

What If I do not have A Cannoli Form?

If you do not have one. Simply use aluminum foil as a substitute.

To make them, roll the piece of aluminum foil into a long tube and then fold over. So it’s firm enough for you to wrap the dough around. It would be best to make the foil tube thick enough and solid enough to wrap the dough around without the foil being crushed.

How To Store Cannoli?

If you want to keep them at their freshness. You can store the shells separate from the filling and assemble them as you serve them. This way, the shell will remain crisp.

If you have empty shells that you want to keep crips, place them in an airtight container, and they will stay crisp for about a week.

If you want to prepare the cannoli filling ahead of time, the filling will stay good for about 2 to 3 days.

But if you have already filled the cannoli, place them into an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. They will keep about 1 to 2 days.

Ways to Dress Them Up

If you go to the North End in Boston there is such a wide variety of choices. Today, I used mini chocolate chips and crushed pistachios, but the possibilities are endless, here are some of my favorites:

• Add unsweetened cocoa powder to make chocolate ricotta cheese. An amazing filling, especially if you are making these for someone who adores chocolate.
• Sliced Almonds
• Dip the cannoli shell into melted chocolate for a great treat.
• Dust them with powdered sugar. This is a perfect treat and looks amazing on the dessert table.

Some Other Great Air Fryer Desserts–

AIR FRYER BLUEBERRY PINWHEELS

AIR FRYER CHERRY CHEESECAKE TACOS

Some Helpful Products Used In Making This Recipe-

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. At no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Cannoli Tubes Molds Stainless Steel Non-stick Cream Horn Danish Pastry Molds for Croissant Shell Cream Roll

Philips Kitchen Appliances Digital Twin TurboStar Airfryer XXL, with Fat Removal Technology, 3 Lbs, Black, HD9650/96

Don’t Forget To Pin–

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