A quick and easy post to go with today’s quick and easy recipe! I loved the long weekend, and I’m excited that today is already Thursday, but I probably could have used an extra day in there this week to get everything done on my to-do list. It’s been a whirlwind! At least most of our patients are back to school today so hopefully the walk-ins will be a little slower at work and things will go back to its normal level of craziness. I feel like I need a vacation, and we just got back from vacation! I don’t have another day off until November, so I guess I’ll just keep daydreaming. Starting with these cannoli cones – they were so ridiculously easy to make I’m tempted to just whip up another batch. If you have any ice cream cones leftover from your Labor Day celebrations, you must make these to help beat the almost-fall blues :)

I’ve made cannoli’s from scratch before – using cannoli tubes and all – but the deep frying is definitely a bit intense, and with all the Italian bakeries around me here in the city, probably not worth the risk. So when I saw a few bloggers using waffle cones instead of true cannoli shells, a lightbulb went off. What a perfect excuse to eat cannoli filling by the spoonful and shove a bit into cones also! I searched far and wide for mini waffle cones, but to no avail here in New York City, so I was a crazy person and just cut down the regular sized ones about an inch. Definitely an unnecessary extra step, but I really wanted these to be mini and adorable. And of course dipped in chocolate and mini chocolate chips because that’s obviously the best part of a cannoli!

Lies – the best part of a cannoli is the filling and I am absolutely obsessed with ricotta cheese. Add powdered sugar and chocolate chips and I’m done. I used to be adverse to cannolis because I generally don’t like cream fillings (no Twinkies for me, thank you) but cannoli filling is a whole different ball game for me. I actually love that it’s not too sweet but cold and perfect with the crunch of the shell/cone. Last time I made cannolis I flavored the filling with cinnamon (and made them mini then too, duh) and also used marscarpone, but I kept things simpler (and cheaper) here with just mini chocolate chips and straight ricotta. You’ll find a divide among recipes for cannoli filling that includes or does not include marscarpone, and I definitely think it does add a richness to the filling, but it’s expensive and I didn’t have it on hand so I left it out this time. Either way this is a fun and easy twist on the classic pastry that’s perfect for a party or just because.

When I made these earlier this summer I actually themed them for July 4th with some red, white, and blue sprinkles as well as using red candy melts instead of the regular chocolate-dipped cones. You can be really creative with the decoration and theme with these – they’re a tasty and festive party treat! And OMG so easy – just check out the recipe below :)