A gluten-free cannoli shells recipe that your gluten-eating friends will never know are gluten-free! Fill with a traditional ricotta filling, or dairy-free mousse, bavarian cream, and more. This recipe was not tested by Bob's Red Mill.
Add vanilla and ice water to egg; whisk well; set remaining ice water aside.
n a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Add the shortening cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry cutter, 2 knives,or whisk, until a crumbly.
Create a well in dry mixture and add egg mixture. Using your hands mix well; form a ball. (If too dry add more ice water; if too wet add a bit more tapioca flour and knead.)
Turn the dough onto a floured surface; cut the dough into 4 pieces. Place three pieces in a ziplock bag and set aside.
With a rolling pin, roll out one of the dough pieces onto the floured surface, to about 1/16" thick. With a cookie or biscuit cutter, or thin-rimmed drinking glass, cut circles out about 3 1/2" round. Set each circle aside. You may layer them, as this dough does not stick together easily. Add additional rice flour to the rolling surface and scrape any stuck-on dough off rolling pin and surface as needed.
Place a steamer rack at the bottom of a stock pot or other large pot; or use a deep fryer with a basket. Add enough oil so that the oil will go about 1" above the cannoli. Heat oil to 380°F.
Oil 7/8-inch cannoli forms/tubes by either spraying or rubbing them with oil; set aside.
Take as many of the circles as you have cannoli forms, and roll each of the circles out into an oval shape making them about 4 – 5" wide. Wrap the dough around a cannoli form and before overlapping it, baste the tip of the dough with egg white to seal the cannoli dough. Press firmly to seal.
When all of your forms are wrapped with the dough and your oil is at 380°F, deep fry each form until golden brown. (Note: if your deep fryer only heats to 380°F, it will work, but they may be a little lighter in color.
Remove after about 1 minute. (Be sure to allow the oil to drip out of the center of the form, over the pot before setting aside.) Place them in a heat resistant bowl, standing up to allow any additional oil to drip. A frying basket does not work, unless they are standing upward.
Slide off the cannoli form with several layers of paper towels or a towel. If they are stuck, twist the form a little bit (not the cannoli). Use caution to prevent burning yourself.
Set cannoli on a rack to cool and leave overnight. This is done to allow additional crispness so that the cannoli may be used in the future versus immediately.
Set forms in the freezer to cool between uses. Do not leave them in there too long, though, as they will form too much moisture.
Repeat steps 6 - 14 until all of your cannoli dough is used. There is no need to pre-oil the form after the first time.
