Here's a recipe that Louise shared with us for homemade canoli shells from scratch. She remembered her Grandmother using a broomstick handle for the dowel rods to fry the canoli shells! If you need a filling recipe for your shells, try the canoli filling with a custard texture like the old Roma Hall from our August 2001 menu minder.
CANOLI SHELLS (Louise’s)
1 c. flour
1/4 c. Crisco
1 small egg, beaten
1/8 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1-2 T. cold water mixed with 1-2 T. white vinegar
6 dowel rods the size of a broomstick handle, sprayed with non-stick spray.Mix canoli shell ingredients like a pie crust and work into a smooth dough. Roll the dough out thinly onto a floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the canoli dough into (5 inch) circles (Louise uses a 5 inch saucer as a template to cut out the circles). Wrap around the dowel, wet edges with water and crimp to seal. Fry the canoli shells in deep fat til golden (about 1 minute). Shell recipe can be doubled.
(makes 6-8 shells)Another one of our neighbors, also named Louise, called in to the show and said you can make the shells with a pizzelle iron.
Canoli Shell recipe is published in our March, 2010 Menu Minder, Issue #317.
