Sicilian Cannoli di Ricotta

Today's recipe is Cannoli with Ricotta.  I remember as a child growing up in a Sicilian family, this pastry was a tradition on certain occasions or sometimes they were prepared just for fun. I always enjoyed polishing up the spoon with the leftover Ricotta cream.

Cannoli di Ricotta:

for 6 persons/6 persone

Per le scorze / for the Shells:
300 gr di farina / 2 cups all purpose flour
50 gr di strutto / 1/4 cup of shortening
30 gr di zucchero / 1/8 cup granulated sugar
2 cucchiai di miele / 2 tsp of honey
2 cucchiai di aceto / 2 tsp of white vinegar
Pizzico di cannella / Pinch of Cinnamon
Olio per friggere / Oil to fry

Per il ripieno / For the filling:
500 gr di Ricotta / 500 gr package of unripened Ricotta Cheese
Una tazza (250 ml) di zucchero di vielo / 1 cup Icing Sugar
Scorze di uno limone / Grated lemon peel (1 tsp)

Mescolate la farina con lo strutto, lo zucchero, un pizzico di cannella e impastate tutto con un po' d'acqua, aceto e il miele finche otterrete un composto consistente.

Blend the shortening into the flour with hands, blend in sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon and add the vinegar and honey. Add enough water until you reach a good consistency -- not too hard and not too sticky.

Col mattarello tirate dei quadrati spessi qualche millimetro e larghi circa 12 cm Arrotolateli obliquamente sulle apposite canne imburrate, pressando sui due angoli sovrapposti.  Friggete le scorze in abbondante olio finche saranno dorate.  Passatele su carta assorbente.  Fate raffreddare quindi estraete le scorze dalle canne.  farcite i cannoli con la crema di ricotta, spolverizzate con lo zucchero di velo.

With the Pasta maker (lasagna attachment) pass through first on No. 1 about 3 times, then turn dial to No. 4 and with a cookie cutter about 14' in diameter, cut out circles.  Wrap each circle around a Cannoli Steel Form (purchased at any baking shop) and with finger dip a bit of egg white on one side of the dough then wrap the other side of the form to close up and form cannoli.  Fry in an abundance of oil on medium heat (reached at 180 Celsius) and when lightly brown, place in strainer, remove the Cannoli form and place shaped Cannoli on paper towel to absorb the oil.  Let cool and fill with Ricotta Cheese.  Check out my Cannolis.  Yummy.