cannoli

/kəˈnoʊli/

A cannoli is an Italian dessert that consists of a crunchy fried pastry tube filled with sweet cream. When you eat at a Sicilian restaurant, you should definitely try the cannoli.

In Italian, cannoli is the plural of cannolo, "small tube," from the Latin root canna, "tube or pipe." In the tradition of pastries like éclairs and cream horns, cannoli have a pastry dough structure surrounding a sweet, creamy filling — in this case, one that's made with ricotta cheese. Cannoli are commonly dipped in chocolate or studded with tiny chocolate chips or chopped nuts.

Definitions of cannoli

1. noun

   (usually plural) tube-shaped fried Italian pastry shells with a sweet filling such as custard, cream, or ricotta cheese