I could give Dom orchids, the modern anniversary gift for twenty-eight years of marriage, or I could give him Orange Scented Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cream Dip with Pizzelle Chips. What do you think?
I’ll let you in on a little secret – I already gave it to him…and I am here to tell you – I chose right! Fyoooo!
I sent him a text the other day and declared that he was about to fall in love with me all over again when he sees what I had made him. And you know what? Right again!
My guy’s a real foodie. He loves most everything he tries, but he loveloveloves his Italian food. I am guaranteed a smile when anything Italian is on the menu, which, let’s face it, is most of the time. He chose right in marrying me (winkwink)…and I definitely chose right in marrying him…
Twenty-eight years, tomorrow (actually thirty-two years if we count our dating days)… each a testament to love and friendship.
Though no two of our 10,220 days married have ever looked the same, the one thing that has remained constant since day one is how lucky I feel to be on this journey with him.
Okay, I’m about to get as sugary as this cannoli cream dip is sweet but I have to share the day I fell head over heels for my big guy… It was a radiant September day, a magnificent fall day all dressed up in rustling leaves with the hint of a glow of late day sunshine casting its perfect amber glimmer over campus. My boyfriend came all the way from Staten Island to visit me in Buffalo for a weekend less focused on academics and more focused on fun. Showing up in his newly whiskered face, baby blue pinstriped shirt, Levi jeans, cowboy boots, wearing cologne that would soon become his signature scent, with his beaming smile and easy manner…something shifted. In the time it took for us to walk from the dorm parking lot to Neumann Hall, my adolescent crush had turned into something more. This was the day, actually the moment my world shifted. I was done. He was it. And I’ve been thanking my lucky stars ever since.
So how could I not create something I knew he’d love?
I’m going to let you in on another little secret – I’m not always in the mood for cannoli. There, I said it. However, I’m always in the mood for cannoli cream with mini chocolate chips, so – I thought to myself, why not make a dip and serve it with say fresh fruit or pizzelle chips? So, that’s what I did.
To make the cream extra special I added orange extract and zest which creates a gorgeous punch of citrus, along with my favorite mini chips. Yep, this is a dip I’ll be serving on the days I don’t want to make cannoli shells but still want to enjoy the flavor of cannoli. It hits the spot in every which way.
Creamy, sweet and delicious…perfect for an evening shared by love birds.
Buon Appetito!
Print
Orange Scented Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cream Dip with Pizzelle Chips
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- Cannoli Cream Dip
- 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp. orange extract
- zest from one orange
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
- Pizzelles
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together until smooth, ricotta, mascarpone, powdered sugar, extracts and orange zest. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Fold into the ricotta mixture.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Chill until ready to eat.
- In the meantime prepare pizzelles.
- In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar until fully combined and light in color.
- Add oil and vanilla and mix again.
- Sift flour and baking powder, add to egg mixture and mix a final time.
- Batter will be thick and dough like.
- Follow directions given for use of the pizzelle maker.
- When machine is preheated, drop by heaping tablespoons on the center of the grid.
- Bake for approximately 35 – 40 seconds (depending on your preference for browning).
- Remove pizzelle from the grid and place on the counter to cool.
- Serve pizzelle pieces (chips) with the chilled cannoli cream dip.
We’re not finished yet….
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CIAO!
Happy Anniversary Annie! The dip sounds wonderful!
Thank you, Manali! I think you’d really like it! 🙂
All I can say is awe! I could be talking about the Orange Scented Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cream or your sweet story. You decide. GREG
Awhhh! Why thank you, Greg! I’ll call it a tie! 🙂
Happy Anniversary! Your story was so sweet and sounds like you two have something very special. And this dip…yes please! Love that you used pizzelles for dipping. My Italian grandma would most definitely approve!
Hi Cathy, Thank you so much! Happy Sunday, my friend! 🙂
Chocolate and orange…oh my gosh!! I love that combination. This would not be safe around me. Making cannoli into a dip is such a cute idea. And the pizzelle chips are so fun!
This is so good! And it just dawned on me…easier to eat more this way – Is that a good idea? hahahha! I say yes!! Thanks, friend! 🙂
I love love stories, the sweeter the better 🙂 . Happy anniversary to a beautiful couple with an incredible good taste in food 😉 . I’ve always thought that the cannoli filling deserved a spotlight on its own and it’s nice that you added an orange scent. It goes perfectly well with the ricotta and the chocolate chips. And the pizzelle….they are my husband’s favorite, his mom still make sthem with the iron.
Awh! Thank you, Nicoletta! With an iron?! Boy, I love that!! Have a beautiful weekend, my friend! Are you back in Canada? 🙂
What a great love story. Thanks so much for sharing. And I love this idea. Orange and chocolate – great combination and I can eat my body weight in pizzeles. Very clever!! Happy Anniversary!
Thank you, Deb! That’s a memory I love sharing… 🙂
Annie, I think I just fell in love with you over this recipe! hahaha! Happy anniversary to you and Dom and what a sweet story you have about when you fell in love with him. Both my hubby and I adore chocolate chip cannoli and your recipe is so much easier than making each cannoli separately or driving somewhere to buy them. I’m supposed to still be on this dumb sugar detox but I think I’m going to make your cannoli dip tomorrow so I can celebrate you & Dom’s anniversary too 🙂
That sugar detox needs to go! Try this – you guys will love it!! Thanks, my dear! Cheers! xo 🙂
Happy, Happy Anniversary! Congrats on 28 years (or 32) -Reading your post gives me hope – even after all this time, y’all are still so much in-love with each other – and that’s a beautiful thing – much like this Orange Scented Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cream Dip with Pizzelle Chips – so much deliciousness!
Thank you so much, Shashi! I am a lucky lady! 🙂
I forgot our anniversaries are six days apart. Happy Anniversary, Annie! And I’m with you — I’m not always in the mood for cannoli. But the filling…oh yes! And with the orange and chocolate flavors, your dip sounds fabulous. Dom’s a lucky guy!
That’s right! April’s a good month for happily-ever-after! Happy Anniversary to you! Thank you, my friend! 🙂
32 years!! Wow, congrats Annie!! I can totally see why your hubby would be all sorts of excited about this dip – it looks SO delicious, especially with those pizelle chips!
Thank you, Rachel! I appreciate your stopping by with a kind word!! 🙂
Happy Anniversary to you both! I love your sweet love story! You are both lucky to have found each other. I’d marry you too if you made this dip for me! 🙂
Thank you, Rachelle! Awh! Aren’t you the sweetest! Even though we’re both taken – I’ll still make you cannoli dip! 🙂
Awww, Annie – what a great story! Congrats to you and Dom – hope you have a wonderful anniversary weekend. And this cannoli cream dip is fantastic – never thought to deconstruct a cannoli – that’s a clever idea!
Why thank you, friend! For all your kind words! Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Happy Anniversary Ann and Dom (from Tom and I)! Ha Ha, about 2 weeks ago in the Brasserie you talked about remembering the night you fell in love! Your cannolis and Pizzelles look and I’m sure taste delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thank you, friend! I know – that chat opened the floodgates to that wonderful memory…I couldn’t help but share it! I hope you like the cannoli dip and pizzelles! 🙂
Happy anniversary Annie! Love your story! Have a great day! I would take this cannoli dip, but I also love orchids!
I know…I did think twice about it! 😉 Thanks, dear!! 🙂
So sweet! Happy Anniversary 🙂 You two sound like a perfect match: you love to cook, he loves to eat your cooking! And I love this cannoli dip! Yum!!!
Awh! Thank you, Kathy! Lucky for me, I love to eat his cooking too! 🙂
Awwww, Happy Anniversary to you both!! I love all the stories you share about your hubs and your children, they are always filled with so much love that I can feel through your words. It warms my heart, dear friend! And in a world full of sadness, divorce, loss, and hatred it give me hope and puts a smile on my face. <3 Thanks for always making my day a little brighter with each of your posts! Okay, enough sap. Cannoli! In DIP form, no less! SO YUM!! I love this idea, girlfriend! Sometimes we want the treat, but we don't want all the hassle so this is absolutely perfect! I love the addition of orange here, and the mini chips are fabulous! Pinned! Cheers, sweets – to a weekend full of love and happiness! XO
Thank you, Chey! So happy we can make each other’s days a little brighter! Oh yes – this dip was a good idea! I made a big serving and we’re still workin’ on it – it’s such a treat! Have a great weekend, lovely! XO 🙂
Congratulations!! I know that every time I look at my Honey I get a little thrill — STILL. He is my best friend and lover. I can’t believe it’s been 46 years for us and we still aren’t tired of each other. Now my Honey is German but he LOVES Italian food. See, he has great taste 😉 Now the important question — did you put an aphrodisiac in the dip??? Have a wonderful weekend.
Time flies when we’re having fun, doesn’t it? It can happily slow down now…though I know the reality of that. Did I what? Hehehe – I’ll never tell…. Thanks, Marisa! 🙂
Congratulations on 28 years!! That is so awesome 🙂 My husband LOVES cannolis more than anything, so I am definitely bookmarking these for him… I won’t make him wait until our 28th anniversary (we’re only at just about 4 now!).
Thank you so much, Sues! Yay! I hope your husband enjoys and thankfully he won’t have to wait another 24 years to have it!! 😉 Four years? That’s beautiful! 🙂
Congrats Annie! Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby and may you have many many more wonderful loving years together!! This cannoli cream dip sounds delicious. And I love chocolate and orange paired together so this recipe is a complete winner for me! Pinning! Have a lovely weekend! XO
Thank you, dear! I’m with you – orange and chocolate = match made in heaven! 🙂
Happy anniversary, Annie! I love the sweet story you shared of your husband. What a day to remember! And I’m so glad you picked this dip over orchids. I’m actually not always in the mood for cannolis, either! But I think I would be in the mood for this dip. Sounds fantastic!
Thank you, Gayle! Hahaha – yeah – I figured the dip was a safe bet! Have a lovely weekend, friend!