Cannoli

Cannolo, plural:cannoli

A basic cannolo lightly sprinkled with confectioner's sugar
Type	Pastry
Place of origin	Italy
Region or state	Sicily
Main ingredients	fried pastry dough, ricotta filling
Variations	Kannoli (Malta)

Cannoli (Italian pronunciation: [kanˈnɔːli]; Sicilian: cannula) are Italian pastries of the Sicily region. The singular is cannolo ([kanˈnɔːlo]; in the Sicilian language cannolu), meaning "little tube", with the etymology stemming from the Greek kanna (reed). Cannoli originated in Sicily and are a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They are also popular in Italian-American cuisine. In Italy, they are commonly known as "cannoli siciliani", Sicilian cannoli.

Cannoli consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta. They range in size from "cannulicchi", no bigger than a finger, to the fist-sized proportions typically found south of Palermo, Sicily, in Piana degli Albanesi.

Cannoli have been traced to the Arabs during the Emirate of Sicily, with a possible origin for the word and recipe deriving directly from qanawāt. These were deep fried dough tubes filled with various sweets, which were a popular pastry across the Islamic world at the time, from Al-Andalus to Iraq.

Cannoli come from the Palermo and Messina areas and were historically prepared as a treat during Carnevale season, possibly as a fertility symbol; one legend assigns their origin to the harem of Caltanissetta. The dessert eventually became a year-round staple throughout Italy.