My cannoli's

I made cannoli's a few years ago for a friends get together. They turned out "okay" but nothing fabulous. This time around I did a lot of searching for a really good cannoli recipe (which I found) and I borrowed my friends pasta maker for perfectly rolled dough (same thickness all around). My dough came out perfectly and the pasta maker was a dream to work with!
the cannoli's were for an International potluck event at our church, I made 40 bite sized cannoli's (the recipe below I just doubled and it was more then enough)
every last one of my cannoli's were gobbled up before I could sit down and enjoy my dinner (at the potluck), so lucky for me I had extra pastry dough at home to make more for myself and friends.

cannolismakes 16 servings.

shells2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 eggs plus 2 yolks
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup marsala
1 egg white, beaten
oil, for frying

filling1 lb whole milk ricotta, drained
3 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar
1/4 lemon, juiced (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
mini chocolate chips (optional)

1. make the shells: place the flour mixer. In a separate bowl mix eggs, yolks, butter and marsala, pour into flour and mix on low for just a few minutes. Dough should be smooth and moist. let rest, covered with a damp cloth, about 30 minutes in the refrigerator. roll the dough very thin and cut into 4-inch circles or which ever size you wish (I used a biscuit cutter for small cannoli's)

2. loosely wrap the dough circles around the cannoli tubes and seal the overlap with beaten egg white. deep fry at 325F until golden brown. remove from oil and carefully slide off the tubes. cool on a wire rack.

3. for the filling, drain the ricotta in a cheesecloth-lined colander in the refrigerator for at least an hour (overnight works best). whip in the confectioner’s sugar with a fork. just adding sugar keeps the ricotta flavor very pure, but for a more varied flavor, add the lemon juice and vanilla.

4. in a pasty bag (or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped), pipe the filling into the shells just before serving. sprinkle with chocolate chips and serve!