Description
Soft, pillowy cannoli cookies with chocolate chunks and chopped pistachios on a white plate, drizzled with melted dark chocolate.
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (≈ 260 g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (one stick)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (from about ½ large orange)
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese, well-drained
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup dark chocolate chunks, chopped (mini chocolate chips work too)
- ½ cup shelled pistachios, lightly chopped
For the Optional Topping:
- 2 tablespoons dark chocolate, melted (for drizzling)
- OR powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Grab your medium bowl and whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Set it aside – you’ll need it in a few minutes.
In the big bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and orange zest with your mixer until it looks fluffy. Takes about 2 minutes. Don’t skip this part – it makes the cookies lighter.
Dump in your drained ricotta and crack in the egg. Mix just until combined. Don’t go crazy here.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture, mixing on low. Stop as soon as it comes together. The dough looks weird compared to regular cookie dough – that’s normal.
Use your spatula to fold in the chocolate and pistachios. Try to distribute them evenly but don’t stress about perfection.
Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for at least an hour. This dough is sticky as hell without chilling. Trust me on this one.
Heat your oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop about 1½ tablespoons of dough (I eyeball it) and roll into balls. Space them about 2 inches apart – they spread a little.
12-14 minutes until the bottoms start getting golden. The tops won’t change much color, which freaked me out the first time but it’s fine.
Let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack. They’re fragile when hot.
Once cool, drizzle melted chocolate over them or dust with powdered sugar. Both look fancy but the chocolate is my favorite.
Notes
- Your butter needs to be actually soft. I take mine out when I start my morning coffee.
- Don’t overbake these. They’re done when the bottoms barely turn golden. They’ll keep cooking on the hot pan.
- If your kitchen is warm (like mine in summer), chill the dough longer. Sometimes I leave it overnight.
- Use a cookie scoop if you have one. Makes them all the same size so they bake evenly.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling)
- Cook Time: 12-14 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian-American