While you may be familiar with the classic Italian cannoli that are served for dessert, this savory puff pastry cannoli recipe has a savory lemony cheese filling with a garnish of crispy speck instead. The results are the most perfect appetizer that you can serve to guests with flavorful cocktails.
To make the savory puff pastry cannoli, you start by wrapping strips of puff pastry around parchment paper cones before baking them in the oven. Then, you make a filling by blending cream cheese with ricotta, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and parsley, which then gets piped into the cones. Finally, the end of the cones are garnished with chopped speck, which is golden and crispy, and has a wonderful smokiness and saltiness.
What are Savory Puff Pastry Cannoli?
Savory puff pastry cannoli are delicious pastries that are inspired by classic Italian cannoli, which have fried pastry shells and a sweetened ricotta filling. However, rather than frying the shells or using homemade dough, this version uses store-bought puff pastry which is baked in the oven.
Additionally, instead of a sweetened ricotta filling, these puff pastry cannoli have a savory cream cheese filling that is flavored with lemon and garnished with salty speck.
Pro Tips
- Thaw the puff pastry in the fridge and keep it cold until you are ready to assemble the cannoli.
- Soften the cream cheese at room temperature before you use it in your filling as this will ensure it is easy to blend with the other ingredients.
- If you don’t have a piping bag, you could place the cheese mixture in a plastic Ziploc bag and snip the corner so you can pipe the filling instead.
- When you zest the lemon, avoid zesting any of the white pith as that will impart a bitter taste to the filling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use Homemade Puff Pastry?
Absolutely! While using store-bought puff pastry makes these cannoli extra convenient to make at home, you could make the pastry yourself if there is a particular recipe that you enjoy.
How Can I Tell the Puff Pastry is Baked?
You will know that the puff pastry is fully baked when it puffs up and becomes golden in color.
Can I Make the Savory Puff Pastry Cannoli Vegetarian?
Yes, to make them vegetarian, simply omit the speck from the recipe. You could instead garnish the cannoli with chopped salted nuts like pistachios or almonds if desired.
How to Store Savory Puff Pastry Cannoli
Leftover cannoli can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 to 2 days, although the puff pastry shell may soften during that time. If you would like to make the cannoli ahead of when you plan to serve them, you could store the filling separately in the fridge and the cannoli shells in a sealed container at room temperature, and simply assemble them just before you plan to serve them.
Ingredients
How to Make Savory Puff Pastry Cannoli With Cream Cheese and Speck
Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into strips.
Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into strips.
Create parchment paper cones and wrap the strips around them.
Create parchment paper cones and wrap the strips around them.
Place the cannoli on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush them with egg wash, and bake them in a 360 F (180 C) oven for 15 minutes.
Place the cannoli on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush them with egg wash, and bake them in a 360 F (180 C) oven for 15 minutes.
Brown the speck in a pan on the stove until golden brown and crispy. Remove it and chop it finely.
Brown the speck in a pan on the stove until golden brown and crispy. Remove it and chop it finely.
For the filling, mix the cream cheese with the ricotta, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and parsley until combined, and place it in a piping bag.
For the filling, mix the cream cheese with the ricotta, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and parsley until combined, and place it in a piping bag.
Pipe the filling into the cannoli.
Pipe the filling into the cannoli.
Dip them in the speck to coat.
Dip them in the speck to coat.
Serve on a platter and enjoy!
Serve on a platter and enjoy!
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