Homemade Cannoli

Instructions

1. To make the pastry, combine the flour, sugar, melted butter or lard, vinegar, honey, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the water (or wine) bit by bit until you have a smooth, compact dough-you may not need any liquid it all. You may need to work this (kneading) quite a bit until it is soft and smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge at least 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, prepare the filling: Combine the ricotta with sugar and whip until you have a creamy consistency. If you need to loosen it, add a splash of milk. Chill until needed.
3. Cut off small, mandarin-sized portions of dough to work with at a time. Keep the rest wrapped and chilling in fridge. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a long rectangular shape until very thin, about 1-millimeter thickness (you should be able to nearly see through it!). Trim the edges and cut the piece of dough into 4- by 4-inch (10- by 10-centimeter) squares.
4. Place a cannoli tube on the corner of a square. Roll the tube to wrap the pastry around it and seal the opposite corner of the pastry by pressing gently (you can also dab a bit of egg white on the corners to seal more effectively).
5. In a small saucepan that will fit 2 to 3 cannoli tubes easily, heat enough vegetable oil so that the pastries will be covered. Over medium-low heat, heat the oil (if you have a candy thermometer, you want to reach about 330° F/165° C; see note above if not). When ready, cook 2 to 3 cannoli at a time, keeping a careful eye on them as they can brown too quickly or unroll themselves if they haven't been sealed well. When they are a deep brown color and the surface is bubbly and crisp, remove them with a slotted spoon and carefully place on kitchen paper to drain. Do not remove the tubes until they are completely cool.
6. Repeat with the rest of the dough. If they are coloring too quickly, the oil is too hot, so turn it down a notch and wait a few minutes before proceeding.
7. To assemble cannoli, just before serving, pipe the ricotta (or carefully spoon it with a teaspoon) into each cooled cannolo tube to fill. Then decorate as desired: Dust with powdered sugar, dip the ends into chopped chocolate or pistachios, or simply pop a candied cherry on one end. Or mix them up!