I’ll show you how to make a smooth, delicious cannoli dip and turn it into a gorgeous dessert board with plenty of dippers—cookies, cones, fruit, and more. It’s simple, fun, and guaranteed to disappear fast!

If you love the sweet, creamy flavor of cannoli but don’t want to fuss with frying shells, this Cannoli Dip is your new go-to dessert!

Made with smooth ricotta, powdered sugar, and vanilla, this easy no-bake dip is light, sweet, and totally irresistible.

Serve it on a fun dessert charcuterie board with your favorite dippers like ice cream cones, graham crackers, cinnamon sugar tortillas, and fresh strawberries.

No-Bake Cannoli Dip Dessert Board

Perfect for parties, holidays, or a simple treat night at home!

How to Make Cannoli Dip (printable recipe is below)

Ingredients:

• 16 oz cup ricotta cheese (pressed through a fine mesh strainer)
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1- 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon dry milk (optional) is best for using if not serving the day prepared, so it remains thick.
• Options: mini chocolate chips, chopped pistachios

Instructions:

1. Strain the ricotta cheese using a cheese cloth can be used, or a nylon cheesecloth
2. Then press the ricotta through a fine mesh strainer for a smooth texture and release excess moisture.
3. Mix with room temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. By hand or with a mixer.
4. Spoon into a serving bowl(s) and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Mix in the chocolate chips or chopped pistachios or sprinkle them on top.

Dipping Ideas for Cannoli Dip

This dip goes with just about anything! Try:

• Ice cream cones – break into pieces or serve mini cones for scooping.
• Graham crackers – honey or cinnamon work great.
• Cinnamon sugar tortillas – cut into triangles and bake until crisp.
• Fresh fruit – strawberries, apple slices, or banana chunks.
• Vanilla wafers or ladyfingers – classic Italian dessert pairings.

Cannoli Dip Tips

This Italian Dessert Dip is a huge hit!!!

• Smooth texture: Straining the ricotta with cheese cloth, or paper towel, is key to that velvety texture.
• Removing as much moisture as possible, so it doesn’t weep later.
• Make ahead: Mix the dip up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate.
• Adding dry milk helps the mixture stay thick and look great, so a pool of liquid doesn’t sit on top.
• Flavor twists: Add mini chocolate chips, orange zest, lemon zest, or almond extract for a flavor boost.
• Presentation: Arrange your dip and dippers on a board for a dessert charcuterie that looks amazing and serves easily.

Q&A

Q: Can I use mascarpone or cream cheese instead of ricotta?
A: Yes! Mascarpone will give a richer, creamier flavor. Cream cheese makes it more like a cheesecake dip.

Q: How do I make it thicker?
A: Add a little more powdered sugar or mix in mascarpone cheese, add the dry milk and allow it to rehydrate and absorb the excess moisture in the ricotta cheese.

Q: Can I make this dip ahead of time?
A: Absolutely. Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Stir before serving.

Q: What can I serve Cannoli Dip with for a party?
A: Arrange it as part of a dessert charcuterie board with a mix of crunchy, sweet, and fresh dippers, it looks stunning, and everyone gets to customize their own bite.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No baking required
• Ready in minutes
• Crowd-pleasing and portable
• Fun to serve and totally customizable

SEO keywords: Cannoli Dip, Easy No Bake Dessert, Cannoli Dip Recipe, Dessert Charcuterie Board, Cannoli Dip with Ricotta, Italian Dessert Dip, Sweet Dip for Parties

This makes a fun to-go treat! Pack it up in a small container, keeping the dip and cones, crackers, separate so they stay dry.

More fun recipes to try, these are all chocolate!

• Chocolate Funnel Cake
• Instant Chocolate Mousse
• Homemade Chocolate Syrup
• Chocolate Cannoli Cones
• Chocolate Oatmeal
• Chocolate Gravy
• Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
• Chocolate Espresso Pudding Pie
• Chocolate Bread Pudding
• Old Fashioned Egg Cream Chocolate Soda
• Chocolate Spaghetti

Print

How to Make a Cannoli Dip and Dessert Charcuterie Board

This amazing and simple no-bake cannoli dip is the perfect dessert!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword cheese, dip, sweet

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Author Diane Schmidt – createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 16 oz ricotta cheese
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/2-1 cup chopped pistachios (optional)
• 1 tablespoon dry milk (optional) This will help the dip stay thick without water releasing as it sits, great if you don't eat it the day you make it.

Instructions

• Strain the ricotta cheese using cheesecloth (cotton or nylon, I linked options in the post), allow it to rest 15 minutes, then squeeze out the excess liquid (about a 1/4 cup may come out)
• Then press the ricotta through a super fine mesh strainer. It should be really smooth.
• Mix the ricotta cheese with room temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar (and dry milk if using) and vanilla, mix by hand or with a mixer.
• Place the cannoli dip in a serving dish or dishes. The chocolate chips and pistachios can be mixed in or just put them on top.
• Place the mixture in the fridge or serve immediately.
• Serve with cannoli chips, graham crackers, pieces of ice cream cones, cinnamon sugar tortillas/chips, and strawberries

The post How to Make a Cannoli Dip and Dessert Charcuterie Board first appeared on Created by Diane.

These chocolate chip cream scones are moist and delicious and sure to be a family favorite!

I LOVE Scones…

They are the perfect breakfast and a tempting treat on their own–and when you add a little chocolate they become irresistible! 

It’s no secret I love chocolate chip cookies too, so this combo is one of my all time favorites.

These scones are made with heavy cream, so no butter or eggs are needed, and with the price of eggs these days, this may just become your new go-to dessert recipe! 

My favorite way to enjoy these is right out of the oven with a nice strong cup of coffee before anyone else in the house awakes. There’s something special about the stillness and quiet of the morning when it’s just me, my cup of coffee, and these tasty scones all to myself. 

Continue reading: Easy Chocolate Chip Scones Recipe

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As soon as you see a couple of bananas sitting on your counter getting some big brown spots…

it’s only a matter of time,

and then…

it’s time to make some banana bread. 

The riper the banana the better flavor the banana bread will have.

If you don’t have ripe bananas, you can hurry them along a little if necessary. You can cut the bananas up and heat them in the microwave for 30-second intervals until warm and soft, then mash them with a fork. Heating the bananas will allow the sugar to release a bit and they’ll have a ripened texture.

I’ve even seen some people place the bananas in their peel on a baking sheet and bake them until skins turn dark to speed up the ripening process as well. I haven’t done that, but let me know if you have. I think the microwave method is pretty simple!

Continue reading: Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

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Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies and I decided to bake all that great flavor into this simple cake, full of brown sugar and chocolate chips just like the all-time favorite cookie! And it’s topped with a delicious frosting that adds a sophisticated touch.

While coming up with this recipe to share I was curious as to when the chocolate chip cookie came about. So I did some research and found that it dates back to 1937. However, it was based on an old colonial recipe called Butter Drop Do cookies. It called for bakers chocolate which Ruth Wakefield didn’t have. Instead, she used a Nestle chocolate bar and chopped it up, adding it to the dough. She thought it would melt completely and blend into the dough, however, that’s not what happened. Instead, the chocolate bits stayed whole and made gooey pockets of delicious cocoa goodness. And that’s how Chocolate Chip Cookies came to be! 

Continue reading: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe

The post Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe first appeared on Created by Diane.

Looking for the perfect cut-out cookie?

Look no further!

These Mini Chocolate Chip Cut Out Cookies are perfection on a plate.

Baking is therapy for me and there’s nothing I like more than a delicious sugar cookie cut out recipe – except when there are chocolate chips involved.

Crispy, golden bottoms, and chewy centers with melted chocolate goodness – this cookie is my go-to.

What makes this cookie so amazing is the no spread cookie dough that holds its shape while it bakes. It can be a real let down when you spend so much time cutting out shapes and designs, only to end up with a blob once the cookies are pulled from the oven. With my recipe, that won’t happen.

There’s also no need to chill the dough, taking a step out and delivering you delicious cookies sooner. And I have loads of tips for cut cookies.

Continue reading: Mini Chocolate Chip Cut Out Cookies

The post Mini Chocolate Chip Cut Out Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.

Yea…

I’m the one with the spoon in the bowl,

no matter if it’s cookie dough or cake batter, I want a taste!

This cookie dough is just that, the same great taste of chocolate chip cookie dough,

but no worries if you’ll get ta tummy ache. We’ve all heard we shouldn’t eat raw eggs, or raw flour, and will put all your worries aside.

You can enjoy it off a spoon or like me, portion it out to enjoy again and again.

Put some in the freezer, keep some in the fridge, put some in jars, and share it with a friend.

This delicious no-bake chocolate chip cookie dough is a sweet tooth’s lifesaver when you don’t want to turn the oven on, are tired, want a sweet snack, or have a cookie craving that needs satisfying!

Continue reading: How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, eat it right off the spoon!

The post How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, eat it right off the spoon! first appeared on Created by Diane.

Browning the butter only takes a few minutes and takes these cookies from good to great!  

I love bitting into a thick cookie,

even better when the chips are all warm and melted.

This is the perfect small batch, the recipe makes 8 large cookies. Which is great if you want a small batch and avoid eating over 30 cookies, or is that just me…

I have a self-control issue. Chocolate chip cookies are my greatest weakness, if I see them, I want them ALL!

About the brown butter, it really adds delicious flavor to these cookies. Kinda nutty, a perfect compliment to the chocolate. You can make them without browning the butter and they are great as well. I made many batches testing how they were both ways.

In a skillet over medium heat bring the butter to a boil and cook until it’s a deep golden brown. Browning the butter reduces the water in the butter and creates a rich deep flavor in the butter, adding a depth of flavor to the cookies.

It’ll smell like toffee when it is done browning! Oh, how I love toffee, click for my toffee recipe.

Continue reading: Brown Butter Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

The post Brown Butter Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.

This recipe will have everyone jumping for joy.

DO NOT BAKE COOKIES is the motto of the day, just grab a tub of this yummy cookie dough and have at it! 

After all these years of slaving to bake batch after batch of cookies, some would just prefer to eat the dough.

But with all the hoopla about not eating raw eggs and raw “uncooked” flour, this is the way to go!

As soon as I scooped them out and put the dough in the containers they were disappearing right before my eyes.

Luckily I grabbed a couple for myself!

So my motto this year is to keep things SIMPLE.

There is not a simpler way to do it then to NO BAKE COOKIES.

I should declare this day as the official, Do not bake cookie day and save everyone time and energy and reduce stress, especially around the holidays. Since everyone is enjoying the cookie dough so much. Why not.

I’m even including a printable for these cute little 2 oz containers that I find in the grocery store in the pepper plate section. They are perfect for fudge too!

You can see the fudge varieties I’ve shared:

• coconut fudge
• red velvet fudge
• gingerbread fudge 
• and peppermint fudge 

Since chocolate chip cookies are just about the most delicious thing ever, THESE were the inspiration for this cookie dough. And if you love chocolate chip cookies like we do, THIS is a must-make!

Continue reading: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The post Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough first appeared on Created by Diane.

…large cookies are always a good thing.   

A really vivid memory came to mind first when I piled the cookies all on the tray,

and then as soon as I took a bite.

They reminded me of the “lunch-lady” cookies in grammar school.

To be specific kindergarten, I have so many childhood memories and many involve food, this one is no different.

In kindergarten two kids would go and get a wagon full of BIG cookies and milk in small cartons piled in a red wagon, I loved seeing that wagon…

even long after I was in kindergarten I’d see two little kids walking the halls with cookie and milk and I’d think of all the happy memories of kindergarten. Like my teacher who still remembered me even when I was in high school. I was so fortunate to have some really great teachers, and I’d go back and visit them.

I recall seeing my kindergarten teacher way down the hall and she’d call me by my full name, I always wondered how all the teachers would remember me no matter how much I had grown or thought I had changed, but they would all recognize me. I was always an outgoing, talkative kid, and as genes would have it so are my kids, it’s no wonder teachers remembered me they probably repeated my name many times while I was in their class!

Continue reading: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

The post Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.

These are not just oatmeal cookies, and they are not just chocolate chips cookies…

They are the perfect combination of both!

These are generous sized cookies, everyone said they just loved seeing such big cookies and couldn’t wait to gobble them up.

Continue reading: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The post Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies first appeared on Created by Diane.