Cannoli Dip

In a pot add ½ gal of whole milk and ¾ cup of heavy cream. 

Bring to 195 degrees while stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching.

Once it is at 195, add the 3 tablespoons of vinegar, stir for 20-30 seconds then pull off the heat and stir until curds have formed. If it doesn’t curdle, don’t panic. Put it back on the heat, add a teaspoon more of vinegar and continue to stir. You can add up to 3 more teaspoons of vinegar, if it doesn’t curdle by then. You’ll have to start over. This process is very sensitive so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work at first. 

Once curdled, curds to sit for an additional 15 minutes. 

While the ricotta is sitting, start on the whip cream by adding ¾ of a cup of heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream (they are the same thing) to a bowl and start mixing on high. 

Gradually add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar to the bowl and continue to mix until the whip cream is smooth and has stiff peaks.

Now you will need to strain the ricotta. Start by placing cheese cloth over a mesh sieve and then pour out the ricotta into the cheesecloth.

Again, let the ricotta sit so the whey can drain out. This could take 10-15 minutes but if your cheesecloth layer is too thick, you might need to move it around to get the whey to drain.

Once the ricotta is drained, add it to a bowl along with a quarter cup of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. 

The best tool for this next part is an immersion blender, but a normal blender or food processor would also work. You want to blend the ricotta, milk mixture until it is extremely smooth.

Once it is a smooth texture, you will add ½ cup of powdered sugar and blend again. You will repeat this 2 more times, adding a total of 1.5 cups of powdered sugar.

Once all the powdered sugar is added, take out of the blender/ food processor, and add in a cup of mini chocolate chips. They could be full size ones but the mini ones are just better!

Now you will add in the whipped cream we made earlier. Start by adding half of the whipped cream mixture in and gently combine. 

Once the whipped cream looks combined, add the rest and again gently combine it (or fold it) in. 

Then serve in a dish and enjoy! Pizzelles and waffle cookies is what I served with but you can get creative with it! Oreos would be good, biscoff cookies, or even fresh fruit like strawberries!