Take the cannoli: a round, deep-fried pastry shell filled with a sweet ricotta cheese mixture that’s freckled with tiny chocolate chips. A Sicilian specialty, cannoli were traditionally made for February’s carnival festivities, but this world-renowned dessert is now popular all year round. Cannoli’s criss-crossing history is difficult to unravel. Its origins can be traced back to pre-Christian times and their tubular shape may reference Druid fertility symbols. The addition of candied fruit, cinnamon or rosewater to the ricotta is a nod to the Arab culture that once dominated Sicily and its cuisine. Yet the use of ricotta, made from sheep’s milk, anchors cannoli in the sheep-filled green pastures of Sicily.

Some of the best cannoli in Brooklyn can be found at Court Pastry, a stronghold of Brooklyn’s best Little Italy. About the size of a hot dog, each cannoli is freshly filled and the pastry shell is not too sweet, providing texture and relief from the densely smooth ricotta cheese filling.

Court Pastry
298 Court Street

Originally published on Until Monday: Brooklyn