These gluten free baked cannoli bites are a delicious hand-held desserts that are great for entertaining. You will love that these little-baked cannoli cups are baked, and not fried. It makes them much healthier.
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Since going gluten free, the one thing I have missed has been cannoli. It is flaky, crunchy, and just plain delicious. These baked cannoli bites are delicious and easy to make. These bite-sized desserts are perfect for entertaining and they look extra fancy on a dessert buffet.
You get all of that yummy cannoli flavor in a finger food portion! If you love dessert as much as I do, you will want to check out some of my best gluten free dessert recipes.
Some of that crunch comes from frying the cannoli in oil. I have tried to re-create cannoli several times, but I wanted to try to make a healthier version that didn't need to be fried in oil.
I hope you will like these baked cannoli shells...trust me they are absolutely delicious!
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Mix up your gluten free dough and then roll out the cold gluten free dough and use a small round cookie cutter to shape the dough.
HINT: The colder the dough, the easier it is to work with.
Step 2: Press each circle into a mini muffin tin. Push in the middle to make cups. Bake until they are crispy and hard. Allow these gluten free cannoli cups to cool fully before adding the cannoli filling.
Step 3: Bake the cannoli cups for 10-15 minutes.
Step 4: While the cannoli cups are baking. Add your wet ingredients to a standing mixer and whip for 3 minutes until creamy.
Step 5: Fill each gluten free cannoli cup with the cannoli mixture. You can either spoon it in or use a frosting bag and pipe the cannoli mixture into each cup. Decorate with sprinkles.
Step 6: Chill for 30-60 minutes (optional).
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
I did try to make traditionally shaped cannoli shells with this recipe but they didn't keep their shape well during baking. You could try to push an aluminum foil roll into the middle and see if it will hold its shape a little better.
I have made this recipe successfully with both Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend and King Arthur GF Measure for Measure. If you are going to use a mix that is different, please ensure it contains Xanthan Gum. If it doesn't contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, you will want to add 1 teaspoon to your mix.
Unfortunately, some sprinkles are NOT gluten free because they are made on shared equipment. If you are really sensitive to gluten as I am, you will want to read my article on gluten free sprinkles.
If you love no-bake desserts, try this easy Gluten Free Key Lime Pie recipe!
Can I use other fillings?
You can use these cups for lots of different fillings. Here are a few ideas:
- Fill with a creamy mousse. My popular fresh raspberry mousse is a great choice!
- This homemade chocolate custard would make a great filling as well!
- Add a fresh strawberry and drizzle with melted chocolate.
More delicious party foods to try:
- These Gluten Free Mini Champagne Cupcakes look fabulous on a dessert buffet.
- If you haven't tried Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Pops, they are a fun dessert to make.
- Something a little different, this Gluten Free Mango Sushi is a fun dessert sushi!
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Baked Cannoli Bites
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cold
- 1 large egg large
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons cold water
Filling
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients.
- Whisk to blend.
- Add cold butter and cut in with a pastry blender.
- Cut butter into flour mixture until it looks like large crumbs.
- Add remaining wet ingredients and mix well.
- On a floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness.
- Use a round cookie cutter to cut out small circles.
- Press dough cut outs into mini muffin tin. Press center down with fingers to make bowls.
- Bake at 350º F for 10-15 minutes until done.
- Move to cooling rack and allow to cool.
Filling:
- Add the mascarpone cheese, sugar, and cardamom to a bowl or standing mixer. Mix well.
- Use either a spoon or frosting bag with a piping tip to fill each cup with mascarpone filling.
- Chill for 30 minutes and top with sprinkles.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan Gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- These cannoli cups will keep for up to 3 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Flour Measuring Tips:
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Fearless Dining
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(*Note, this post was updated from an older June 2015 post.)
Patricia Johnson
Good afternoon. First let me state that I am not an experienced baker. But these sounded so good that I had to give them a try. I followed the directions for the dough to the letter but it was very dry. It would not hold together. I read all the ingredients numerous times but I didn't miss anything. As I was reading the ingredients for the filling I saw 6 tablespoons of cold water but when you read the instructions it doesn't mention the water for the filling. I thought about it and thought the water should have been one of the ingredients for the dough. I tried it and it was the missing ingredient.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Patricia, I am so sorry. I see what you mean. I think when I separated the ingredients by cannoli and filling, I didn't slide that water up. I am really glad you were able to add it in. Thank you so much, it is corrected now.
Brenda
If I wanted to omit the cardamom, what would you suggest using instead> These look great.
Sandi Gaertner
You can easily leave out the cardamom Brenda. Have a great holiday!
Mary Kvech
do they come out chewable. I tried something like this a while back and they were hard to bit through
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Mary, The baked shells are a little hard, but not so hard they are difficult to bite into. Frying definitely adds air bubbles and crispiness that can't be duplicated by baking.