Sugar Cone Cannoli

12 sugar cones
1 bag (12 oz.) mini chocolate chips

24 oz. container Ricotta cheese

8 oz. package cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

2 tsp. grated orange zest (optional)

4 tbsp. finely chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

Put the ricotta in a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. If you don't have a fine mesh sieve the recipe suggested lining the bottom of a colander with two coffee filters slit up the side and opened up. Refrigerate 30 to 45 minutes to drain. (I skipped this step so the cannoli got a bit soggy by the time I served them. Word to the wise...don't skip this step.)

As an extra little decoration, I melted some chocolate chips in a pan on the stove top and dipped the cones into the chocolate and then dipped them in sprinkles. I set them aside to cool while I made the cannoli filling.

Put the drained ricotta in a large bowl, add the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, and the orange zest, if using. Beat with a mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add in the mini chocolate chips (I chopped up large chocolate chips in a food processor). Mix well.

Spoon into a plastic icing bag (I used my pampered chef decorator for this). Squeeze mixture into cones and top with mini chocolate chips.

**The filling tastes so much better after it sits for a day. I recommend you make the filling, and refrigerate it overnight before making the cannoli's the next day. Don't get me wrong the filling was great the day of, but it was even better on day 2!! **