Mini Cannoli Cream Pies

Whenever I find myself in an Italian restaurant or bakery, I’m always tempted to order cannolis. But in reality, I don’t actually love cannolis. What I love is that delicious cannoli cream. As for the shell, I could take it or leave it. And often, when I get a cannoli, I’ll just unroll it and use a spoon to scoop out the cream filling and eat it on its own—a move that ‘s resulted in much staring and mockery over the years.

When I found myself craving that cannoli cream recently, I decided I wasn’t in the mood to drag myself out to a restaurant or bakery. And I certainly wasn’t about to start fiddling with cannoli shells, deep fryers, and the like. So instead, I decided to make these mini cannoli pies. I had some individual premade pie shells lying around, and I had everything else I needed on hand to whip up my version of the cream.

Now I’ll be perfectly honest and say that my cannoli cream was not as good as some of the better cannolis I’ve tasted in the area (and living in New Jersey, there are some establishments around here who do know how to make a mean cannoli). But, it was still pretty darn good.

Mini Cannoli Pies

Ingredients:
10 premade mini pie shells (or feel free to make your own)
15 ounces of part-skim ricotta cheese, drained
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 and ¼ cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Strain the ricotta cheese to the best of your ability.
3. Using a stand or electric mixer, beat the strained ricotta until it’s nice and creamy.
4. Add in the heavy cream, confectioners sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, orange juice, and cornstarch; beat until the mixture is smooth and somewhat thickened.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Place the mini pie shells on a baking sheet and pour the cannoli cream filling into the pie shells.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops of the pies start to brown just slightly.
8. Remove the pies from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool at room temperate for about 20 minutes.
9. Place the pies in the fridge for two hours to allow them to set. If you’re so inclined, you can drizzle a little chocolate syrup over them right before serving. Or not. They’re certainly sweet enough on their own.

Nov 17

Brownies With Pumpkin Caramel Sauce and White Chocolate Chips

Looking for a pumpkin-infused twist on a simple, classic brownie? Try this recipe. It’s quick, easy, and very, very tasty. Plus, you can use any leftover pumpkin-caramel sauce as a topping for your next ice cream sundae. (Or, you know, just eat the remains with a spoon…)

Brownies With Pumpkin Caramel Sauce and White Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup caramel candies (I used Kraft)
1 tbsp milk

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the caramel candies with the tablespoon of milk at 30-second intervals, stopping to stir in between. Once melted, stir in the pumpkin, and then set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until well-combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour the brownie batter into your prepared pan and then use a spatula to evenly spread the pumpkin caramel sauce on top.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies cool in the pan for two hours before slicing and serving.

Nov 16

Pumpkin Oatmeal Crumb Bars

Can you tell that I’m pretty much obsessed with pumpkin?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve made pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin whoopie pies, and pumpkin cake. Incidentally, I’ve also made pumpkin butter, pumpkin soup, pumpkin stew, and a host of other savory items featuring my favorite fall ingredient. But the one thing that was missing from the lineup until recently was the classic pumpkin pie.

Now don’t get me wrong – I like pumpkin pie. Love it, in fact. But this year I kind of wanted to do something different. Enter these pumpkin pie bars, which are essentially pumpkin pie taken up a notch, and in a very good way.

At a recent get-together at my place, I served these bars cold and topped them off with homemade whipped cream, and they were a huge hit. If you’re seriously into pumpkin like I am, go make these bars as soon as you have a chance.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Crumb Bars

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

For the Oatmeal Crumb:

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/4 cups quick oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Pumpkin Pie Filling:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
1/3 cup evaporated milk

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing the excess to hang over the sides.

2. To make the crust, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add both the granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix until no clumps remain. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract, then stir with a fork until the mixture is evenly moistened. Press half of the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

3. To make the filling, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and whisk until well blended. Whisk in the pumpkin and then the evaporated milk until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly combined.

4. When the crust has finished baking, pour the filling over the bottom crust and return it to the oven for 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven, pinch the remaining oatmeal crumb mixture into small pieces, and sprinkle it over the top of the filling.

5. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes until the top starts to brown and the center jiggles only slightly.

6. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bars to cool to room temperature for at least 1 to 2 hours. Then, transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours. Store leftovers covered in the fridge – they’ll keep for a few days, assuming they don’t get gobbled up first.