Have you ever found a recipe that looked too good to be true? Welcome to my weekend.
I was going to be visiting family on Saturday and wanted to bring a fun dish [lucky | unlucky for them – they always serve as my recipe guinea pigs]. I’ve seen the infamous Cannoli Dip making its rounds on Facebook & Pinterest for a while now, and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give it a shot.
I mean, put 5 ingredients in a bowl, mix them together & serve?! Was right up my alley.
Initially, my dip was too runny, a little gritty, and not very creamy. I was so bummed, but dead set on not giving up on my Cannoli soup disaster. In the midst of the stressful 2 hours or so it took to get this “easy dip” to it’s ideal consistency & picturesque status, I opted not to photograph the struggle. I apologize to those who were interested in seeing my aftermath of a tornado kitchen during this process. You can see snapshot of the end result at the bottom though! 😉
To fix the mess, I decided to add some corn starch [one tablespoon at a time] until it thickened up a bit. I also added another 8oz. block of cream cheese, some heavy cream, and beat that dip with my hand mixer until my little fingers went numb!
All in all – it was not the best thing I’ve ever made, but it wasn’t god awful. After googling what could have possibly gone wrong and how I could have made it better, I got some very helpful tips! See below.
How to not make Crummy Cannoli Dip:
1) DRAIN YOUR RICOTTA. This was not in the directions, but I think it’s 100% necessary. I had actually read elsewhere that draining was recommended, so I did give it a try. In a cloth, I scooped the ricotta & rang it out for a minute or two. Newsflash, this is not how you drain ricotta. To properly drain, wrap the cheese in a cloth, place in a strainer, and set a heavy brick or something of the sort on top for about 2 hours.
2) Try Marscapone? I don’t know if this would make much of a difference, but I may give it a shot next time.
3) Mix everything before adding the chocolate chips.
4) Try this recipe! It requires a little more work [like using a stove top – ew, more dishes], but I think it’s the secret to the creamier consistency.
I served it with Pizzelles, Fresh Strawberries, and Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle.
Honestly, I’m not much of a star in the kitchen, but I really love trying creative, new recipes when I have the time. Everything can’t be a hit the first time around [like my FAVORITE peanut butter cheesecake ], but you learn! I’m excited to give this dip another try.
Have you ever made a Cannoli Dip? How did it come out?
Nice save. My dessert dishes never come out right. Very clever to use pizzelle to dip. What an appealing presentation!
Thanks #1 fan :)! I’m going to give it another try soon. And use non-alcohol infused pizzelles haha 😉
My husband will love this recipe “he loves cannoli”, I will definitely try this!
Aw, I’m so glad that you stopped by. It really is such a genius concept, I’m looking forward to giving it another try soon.
Let me know how you make out with your dip!! 🙂
I definitely will! 🙂
Hubba Hubba! What a fab looking dish for a party. Looks amazing.
Thank you!! 🙂
Hi! I just tried this for a work party. I ran into the same runny problem. I also added the additional 8 ounces of cream cheese, plus some leftover candied fruit from our fruitcake (the small pieces) and 1 tbs of corn starch, and mixed it in with a hand blender. Voila – perfect consistency! I hand-mixed the larger candied fruit pieces, the chips, and a splash of maraschino with a bit more corn starch (so it’s more like Cassata-dip and not Cannoli-dip but looks pretty impressive, if I must say. Serving with graham crackers.
Hi Amy –
So glad you tried it & were able to thicken it up! I love the candied fruit idea. I’m sure it’ll be a hit!
I’ve been dying to make it again – I think draining the ricotta next time around will be key.
I hope everyone enjoys it! 🙂