Being Italian and from Jersey, I love cannoli, but here in Southern Maryland, it is hard for me to find really good cannoli. We have a bakery around the corner, but theirs tastes more like buttercream to me. Maybe there is a difference between Belgium and Italian pastries…either way, I do not resist when I see cannoli as an option on dessert menus.
We had a very low-key Easter dinner this year. So I felt like making something very special. I had been planning on making this dessert for a while, but just hadn’t got around to it. I decided to to try making the cannoli cheesecake almost as an afterthought. Part of why we were so low-key is that the pollen has been kicking my butt and making it hard for me to focus.
There was just one slight problem…my guys are not as big cannoli fans as I am. So I knew I couldn’t tell them what it was until after they had tried it.
Because the guys don’t love cannoli as much as I do, I told them I had made a chocolate chip cheesecake pie. They tried it and enjoyed it. After I told them what it really was, they both said they liked it better than regular cannoli. They really liked it better the next day after it had spent a night in the fridge. I guess we have a winner because it is gone with no leftovers days later.
While the guys ate theirs as dessert, I ate mine for breakfast. It paired nicely with my morning coffee. This will definitely be made again!
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup Cool-whip
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (reserve extra for garnishing)
- 1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
Materials
Instructions
- Using mixer, beat cream cheese and ricotta until smooth and creamy.
- Pour in heavy cream and beat on high until it thickens and stiff peaks form.
- Add vanilla, confectioners sugar, and cinnamon.
- Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Fold in Cool-whip
- Spread mixture into graham cracker crust.
- Garnish with remaining chocolate chips.
- Chill for at least one hour or more to set.