Can You Make Cannolis In An Air Fryer?

Oh, cannolis. There's nothing like the classic Italian dessert, with its crunchy yet tender deep-fried pastry shell that encases the creamy, velvety ricotta cheese filling mixed with pistachios and chocolate chips. If cannolis are a regular part of your baking routine, you may want to know how to save time making this delicacy.

Cannolis come from Sicily, that island in the Mediterranean Ocean just off the coast of Italy's "boot." The pastries are named after a hollow reed that grows in rivers on the island, which used to be used as molds to make the crisp shells, per La Cucina Italiana. They were supposedly invented by an emir's, er, harem, to honor him, according to CNN.

Cannoli shells have a distinctive shape. They're made from circles formed around a metal tube (river reeds are so 11th century), so the front part is smaller than the back, letting the delectable filling take center stage. Traditionally, a scratch dough of flour, lard, egg, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and Marsala wine is used to make the shells, which are then wrapped around that metal tube and deep-fried. Sounds complicated, right? Well, there's an easier way to make cannoli shells.

To paraphrase "The Godfather," you can leave hot oil bubbling so dangerously on the stovetop in your past. An air fryer will produce crisp, crunchy cannoli shells with less fat and less danger.

An air fryer is basically a small convection oven that kind of looks like R2D2 from "Star Wars" (see this picture from the National Museum of American History for proof) that circulates heated air around the food instead of hot oil, per Food52. The food is placed on racks so the air can crisp every bit. While the results aren't quite the same as deep-frying, they're close enough. 

There's another shortcut you can try, too (Italians, please look away now). You can use prepared pie dough instead of making dough from scratch, according to MyRecipes. This easy method makes an admirable substitute for the "real thing." (Let's face it, the shell is basically a vehicle to get that super-rich ricotta filling into your mouth.)

So, how do you use pie dough to make cannoli shells? First, buy some metal cannoli tubes; you can't make this recipe without them. Let the prepared pie crust soften according to the package directions and prepare the ricotta filling in the meantime, advises MyRecipes. The soft cheese must be drained before it's mixed with sugar and the other goodies, or it won't be firm enough to fill the shells properly. When the filling is done, pop it in the fridge and start on the shells.

Roll out the dough, cut out circles, form them around the cannoli tubes, and coat the dough with egg white and turbinado sugar (with its large crystals, it will provide more crunch). Then, bake them in the air fryer, let them cool, add the filling, and dig in.

And if you can't get enough of cannolis, try making a cannoli icebox cake recipe or strawberries with cannoli cream. You could even serve your cannoli with a chocolate cannoli cocktail.