Cannoli Bars

I love Cannoli, but I wanted to see if I could get the cannoli flavor into a different kind of dessert. These Cannoli Bars are like cheesecake bars, but they have the flavor of a cannoli.

These are a lot easier than making cannoli at home too. First of all, I cheated and bought a box of cannoli shells. So you don't have to make shells at home. You can usually buy these at the grocery store or online. Sometimes they even sell the shells at local bakeries. If you cant get the unfilled shells, you can use graham crackers instead and just make a regular graham cracker cheesecake crust.

How to make Cannoli Bars

I break up the shells a bit and put them in a food processor and pulse them until they are crumbs. You could do the same with graham crackers. If you don't have a food processor you could put the shells in a plastic ziploc bag and use a rolling pin or a hammer to crush them. Once the shells are crushed you add the melted butter and sugar and mix them until they are combined. Pour the Cannoli Bar crumb mixture into a 9X9-inch pan with parchment paper covering the bottom and sides. Then bake the crust for 8 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until it gets golden brown. Pictures of these steps are below.

For the Cannoli Bar filling mix the room temperature cream cheese together with the ricotta until they are combined and smooth. Then mix in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and cinnamon.

Pour the filling on top of the baked crust. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the batter, they will sink in.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until the edges are golden brown and the center is set

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, then cut and serve.

Cannoli Bars

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3.6 from 5 reviews

Cannoli, but in easy to make bar form

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 16 Bars 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

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Crust

• 6 unfilled cannoli shells
• 5 tbs butter (melted)
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar

Filling

• 1 8oz package cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 16oz package ricotta
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Crust

1. Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Break cannoli shells up into smaller pieces, then add to a food processor and pulse until they became crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a separate bowl and add in the melted butter and sugar and mix until ingredients are combined together. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake crust for 8 minutes in the preheated oven.

Filling

1. Mix the cream cheese and ricotta cheese together in a mixing bowl until well combined. Stir in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan over the crust. Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter.
2. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour until the edges are golden brown and the center is set. Cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Sprinkle powdered sugar over bars before serving if preferred.

Notes

If you dont have cannoli shells, you can use 1 and ½ cups crushed graham crackers.

If you dont have a food processor you can put them in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin