These Gingerbread Cannoli Phyllo Cups are a fun dessert to serve around the holidays! Instead of a cannoli shells, this recipe uses store-bought phyllo cups filled with a ricotta gingerbread cream. They take just 15 minutes to whip up and are so cute!
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Athens Foods. All opinions are my own.
How To Make Gingerbread Cannoli Cups
Normal cannoli’s take a LONG time to make. The shells are what really take forever. You have to make the dough from scratch then roll them out cut and then wrap them around a cannoli tube, etc. Way too many steps for me. Plus, everyone knows filling your shells too early will make them soggy! So they are not ideal for parties.
With that said, I wanted to create a quicker version so friends and family can still enjoy cannolis during the holidays! I partnered with Athens Foods to create a fun, easy and festive holiday dessert everyone will LOVE!
These cannoli cups are a fun take on your classic cannoli recipe but much more festive for the holidays! I used Athens Foods pre-made phyllo cups as the cannoli ‘shell’ and filled them with a spiced ricotta cream. You get all the flavors of gingerbread cookies but still taste the ricotta cheese which is the star in cannolis.
How To Get The Gingerbread Flavor
To make a gingerbread spiced cannoli cream, you need these flavors:
- Molasses
- Clove
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Ricotta
Stores also sell gingerbread spice so if you find that, you can totally use that instead with the molasses.
I added some sugar to the cream for a little added sweetness but not TOO much. You don’t want to make it OVERLY sweet. You still want to be able to taste the richness of the ricotta which is what a traditional cannoli is all about.
I also added some crushed gingersnap cookies. These add a nice crunch while helping to thicken to cream.
Another ingredient people often add to cannoli cream is mascarpone cheese. It is like a sweetened cream cheese. I wanted to use minimal ingredients so I left it out. I also don’t think it NEEDS the additional cheese.
Cannoli Phyllo Dough Cups
Athens Foods phyllo cups are amazing. They are the PERFECT bite-size vessel and so versatile. You can literally fill their phyllo cups with just about anything from sweet to savory and it will taste delicious!
Plus, they have come out with different flavored phyllo cups so you can choose whichever flavor you like best or use a mix of all three!
- Standard Phyllo Cups
- Graham Cracker Phyllo Cups
- Chocolate Phyllo Cups
I used their graham cracker phyllo cups for this recipe but all of them would be delicious. For chocolate lovers, I think it would be a great idea to add miniature chocolate chips to the filling and use their chocolate phyllo cups as the cannoli shell! Then top with more chips! The possibilities are endless!
How Far Ahead Can I Make My Gingerbread Cannoli Cups
You shouldn’t fill your cups too early otherwise they will get soggy. So I don’t recommend filling them more than a few hours ahead of time!
Tips For Making These Ahead Of time
The best tip is to keep your phyllo cups in the freezer until about 20 minutes before you want to fill them. Then, while they are defrosting (or the night before) make the cannoli cream and keep in a plastic baggie in the fridge ready to fill when your guests arrive or when dinner is ending! The filling takes just a couple of minutes!
A great way to transport them to another party is to reuse the plastic cup holder that comes in the package! It will prevent them from sliding around! Just pop the stuffed cups back in each holder and place the entire thing in a deep casserole dish or plastic container. Cover and transport with ease!
Looking for more fun finger foods for your holiday party? Check out my list of 17 Holiday Finger Foods!
Looking for other festive holiday recipes? Check these out!
Chocolate Cake Cookies (Using Boxed Cake Mix)
Christmas Cake Balls (with cake mix)
Christmas Stuffing Filled Biscuit Cups
Puppy Chow Recipe (with Vanilla Pudding)
Easy Gingerbread Cannoli Phyllo Dough Cups
Easy Gingerbread Cannoli Phyllo Cups
Ingredients
- 1 1.9 oz Package Athens Phyllo Cups (Graham Cracker Flavor) ((14 cups))
Gingerbread Cannoli Filling
- 4 oz. Ginger Cookies (6-12)
- 7 oz. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- 2 tbsp. Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp. Molasses
- 1/4 tsp. Ginger
- 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Cloves
Instructions
- Remove phyllo cups from the freezer.
- Crush 6 cookies in a plastic bag or in a food processor until mostly broken down.
- Add crumbs to a medium sized bowl along with the rest of the gingerbread cannoli filling and mix well.
- Add filiing to a plastic Ziploc baggie and cut a hole on one corner the size of a nickel. Pipe filling into phyllo cups. *If using a piping bag, use any larger tip you wish. If your hole is too small, the filling may get stuck.
- Finish by adding a piece of the ginger cookie on top! Serve immediately.
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