*This post is part of the Nasoya Holiday Entertaining Series, I received complimentary products for this post, however all opinions as usual are my own.
You may or may not know that I recently took a trip to the amazing New York City for the first time! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I’m sure you caught a glimpse of my two days of utter ‘overgramming’, for which I’m not sorry! New York needs to be experienced by EVERYONE at least once in their lifetime. I’m excited to share a glimpse of my experience below of just how life changing NYC was for me! But first, I’ve got a great recipe for you!
When I was asked originally to review Nasoya Wraps I had a completely different recipe in mind. The great thing about Nasoya Wraps is just how versatile they can be. After coming home from my incredible vacation, I knew I wanted to re-create one of my favorite desserts from the trip. There were a handful of things I HAD to eat while I was in New York. One of them was a cannoli. Whenever I think of New York, cannoli’s are always one of the first few things I think of. When I saw this recipe provided to me by Nasoya it immediately jumped out at me! Not only do these treats come together in a flash, they are delicious, simple AND mini!!! Keep reading for the recipe and to find out how I ate my way through NYC in two and a half days!
Mini Cannoli Cups
Mini Cannoli Cups are the perfect bite-sized treat for your holiday entertaining! They are adorable, delicious, and can be whipped together in a jiffy!
Ingredients
- 3 c. fresh ricotta
- 1 1/3 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
- 1/3 c. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
- 1 pkg. Nasoya Won Ton Wraps
Instructions
For the Filling
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Place the ricotta and extract in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using a spoon or whisk, mix the ricotta mixture until smooth, about 2 minutes.
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Slowly add in the powdered sugar, mixing until just combined and stir until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
For the Wonton Cups
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Preheat the oven to 350 F.
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Place each wonton wrapper on the base of an inverted mini cupcake pan, pressing down to create a mini 'bowl'.
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Bake for 8 minutes until the cups are lightly browned.
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Allow to cool fully before filling with the ricotta mixture and topping with extra mini chocolate chips. Garnish with additional sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Nasoya
I will definitely attribute the amazing experience to my husband. He literally planned our vacation like a BOSS. I’ve always known he’s had mad research skills. Those skills shined bright like a diamond as we were able to experience so much in such little time. Having the plan in order before embarking on our crazy adventure made each day seamless. I can only imagine what we would have been able to do and see if we had more time. It’s incredible what we were able to accomplish all that we were in such little time. We savored and enjoyed every single second.
When I saw this sign at the airport on our way home I contemplated taking a picture. My camera and phone were buried in our luggage, I was starving, and just ready to be situated at that point. I’m so glad I dug around and found the camera. You want to know why? This phrase captures 100% of exactly what we did. We loved the food and we lived in the moment. What an experience. Come with me on the journey of how we ‘ate’ our way through New York. There honestly weren’t enough hours in the day for all of the food that I wanted to eat in our short stay. I’m pretty impressed we were able to check off everything on our list of ‘must eat’ restaurants for this visit. There are so many more places I’d like to try for a future visit!
We arrived in New York Friday afternoon the day after Thanksgiving. We kept Friday evening open as we knew we would be exhausted from traveling and really wanted to focus our big adventures for Saturday and Sunday. After traveling via the most pleasant cab ride to our hotel and checking in to we rested for several hours. Around 8:30, we were finally ready for dinner. Upon the recommendation of the concierge we walked around the block and found ourselves at MEW NYC 53 W 35th St. Basement, New York, NY 10001. I LOVE sushi so very much, and Steve was such a sport to go even though he doesn’t like it. I ordered and loved the MEW Special Roll (spicy salmon avocado wrapped in seared salmon with mayo) and the Chikaten Roll (tempura roll with salmon, avocado, & cream cheese topped with spicy mayo & eel sauce). He ordered and loved the Kara Age (a Japanese-style deep fried chicken) and Garlic Fried Rice (fried garlic rice with soft boiled egg). The atmosphere was everything I would expect from a popular NYC restaurant and the perfect way to begin our vacation. It was really close and convenient to our hotel, located in a basement, and as the evening got later it became busier. It was so exciting to see nightlife first hand in the big city. I think we started eating at 10:00 pm. You’d never know it by how packed the place was that it was so late!
On Saturday we began our adventuring at Grand Central Station. As soon as we stepped foot in to the station immediately my breath was taken away. The awe. The grandeur. It really was quite unbelievable. We stumbled upon Jacques Torres Chocolate Grand Central Station: 107 East 42nd Street (Lexington Passage Way) and I’m now convinced it’s got to be the best chocolate on the planet. I warmed up with THE most delicious White Chocolate Chai Hot Chocolate that was unbelievable. Unbelievable. Ahh.. I’m salivating for a cup as we speak. I also bought a couple of the truffles: the Heavenly Hazelnut & European Peanut Butter. Both were to die for. In fact, after I’d gotten around to eating them I was sad that I’d only bought one of each. I then proceeded to look for a Jaques Torres Chocolate shop everywhere we went for the remainder of our stay. Never did see another shop. The best part about this shop (aside from the incredible flavor) is that their chocolate is REAL. There are no extracts, no oils, no preservatives, and no essences. Wow. The quality shows.
Magnolia Bakery came HIGHLY recommended by more than one. I picked up a Vanilla Cupcake at the Magnolia Bakery Grand Central Terminal, Lower Dining Concourse New York, NY and sadly, never got around to eating it. Saddest day when I was too full to enjoy it. I know it would have been wonderful, there was just too much good stuff to eat and not enough room in my belly!
Our lunch ended up turning in to… well, a really late lunch and practically dinner! After Grand Central Station we had gone to the Rockefeller Center, the Top Of The Rock, and had taken a Rockefeller Center Tour. After all of that we stumbled upon Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar 220 West 44th Street Between 7th & 8th Avenue New York, NY 10036 before heading to the Discovery Times Square to see Body Worlds Pulse. I was SO excited to eat at Guy’s restaurant. I love watching him on Dinner’s Drive-In’s & Dives and was eager to get to try his food first hand. I ordered the Crispy Shrimp Po’Boy (Lightly seasoned and fried cornmeal-crusted shrimp, dressed in true New Orleans style with Creole mayo, shredded cabbage, tomatoes + pickles). Steve ordered the Chicken Tortilla Soup (Rotisserie roasted chicken in a hearty house made chicken broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, jalapeños, lime crema, avocado + crispy tortilla strips). Both were fantastic! To save us some time, we ate at the bar (otherwise there was an hour wait!). The service was spot on and the food was delicious!
Dinner Saturday night was decided from a recommendation a friend had given me months prior to our trip. Don’t Tell Mama 343 W 46th Street New York, NY 10036, between 8th & 9th Avenues was a quaint little Italian restaurant. By the time we got around to eating dinner I wasn’t too terribly hungry (since our ‘lunch’ was really late). I ordered the Caesar Salad (fresh Romaine lettuce, Asiago-Parmesan cheese, croutons & special Caesar dressing). It was delicious! Steve ordered the Spaghetti & Meatballs (crushed tomato & roasted garlic sauce). We also got an order of the Garlic Bread (toasted sourdough bread topped with garlic & Parmesan cheese). The atmosphere of the restaurant was fun. There weren’t many in the actual restaurant, but there were quite a few at the adjacent piano bar & also a crowd from a show that had just finished in the attached cabaret showroom.
I’m a huge fan of the Food Network, and also a pretty big fan of the Cake Boss. As soon as I found out we would be visiting New York, going to the Cake Boss Cafe 625 8th Ave (at 42nd St.) NYC went on the top of my ‘must see/eat’ places. I would have loved to have gone to Carlo’s Bakery, but it was too far from our hotel and anything else we were doing. The Cake Boss Cafe was just as great, as I was able to get the cannoli my heart had been desiring for so long. I wanted to try another treat and ended up with the Lobster Tail (which is Buddy’s pick!). Both were phenomenal. When we walked in to the cafe there were people EVERYWHERE! They had a ticketing system where you would grab a number and they helped each customer in the order of their numbers. Great system for such a popular and crazy busy place! We only ended up waiting about a half hour. Considering how many people were packed inside of the place I thought surely we would have been there longer.
Back when we were doing our cleanse in August I decided it was the perfect time to watch documentaries about food: NOT! Well, I did love the documentaries but not being able to eat and food (aside from juice) proved to be challenging as I watched the t.v. salivating. I watched Best Food Ever: Top 10 Food Trucks in America. There I learned of Wafels & Dinges. This was another one of the ‘must see/eat’ places to go during our visit. Sunday morning we realized that it was CRAZY close to our hotel. So we walked to Wafels & Dinges West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001. I ordered the ‘WMD’ (Wafel of Massive Deliciousness) which was their amazing leige waffle topped with nutella, fresh whipped cream, strawberries & dusted with powdered sugar. Um. Can you say YUM?!? Wow. It was everything I had hoped it to be. I only wished I had more mornings to enjoy a new one each day (my hips thank the heavens above that we didn’t have more mornings to enjoy!).
On Sunday evening we had another late ‘lunch’. Our day was packed with so much adventuring there wasn’t enough time to eat until later. After Wafels & Dinges we had taken a sightseeing tour on the Circle Line Cruise Pier 83, West 42nd Street New York, NY 10036. We took the Best Of NYC Tour where we were able to take in over 101 city sights by water including the Intrepid, Yankee Stadium, the Cloisters, and a pretty awesome closeup of the Statue of Liberty. After that we took our first Subway ride over to the Museum of Natural History. It was incredible. Back to our food. We had known that we wanted to be sure to get pizza while in NYC. Steve had researched and Patsy’s Pizza 2287 First Avenue New York, NY 10035 was evidently where Frank Sinatra used to order his pizza from! We ordered Original Coal Oven Pizza (thin crust, tomato sauce, & grated mozzarella) with black olives, pepperoni, & mushrooms. It was divine!!! Oh it was just delightful. I also knew I didn’t want to leave New York without having a slice of NY cheesecake FROM New York. So we ordered a slice of Torta Di Ricotta (homemade Italian Cheesecake) to share. It was unbelievable. Steve doesn’t even like sweets and he couldn’t stop eating it! It was AMAZING!!!
After Patsy’s we went to the Empire State Building. The lobby was beautiful. We travelled to the top and took photos. It was extremely windy, so I didn’t spend too much time outside. As soon as I felt the building moving I moved myself right back indoors where I felt safe. Steve stayed out a while and captured some pretty amazing photos. Thank heavens the wind didn’t carry off our camera (I was a little worried about that!). Only two’ish hours later we found our way to Dhaba Indian Cuisine 108 Leginston Ave. New York, NY 10016. Steve and I LOVE Indian food and some good friends of ours said this was a ‘must eat’ restaurant. It was delicious! The only downside was that we weren’t hungry enough to finish half of our food (and were silly enough to order more than we needed, but we were just so excited). We ordered samosas (pastries stuffed with potatoes & cauliflower), chicken tikka masala (skewered chicken in a fanugreek laced tomato sauce), malai marke butter murgh (tandori strips in a tomato sauce with peppers) AND garlic naan. Ay ay ay!!! So much food… SO not enough room in our bellies! The saddest part was that we couldn’t even take any leftovers because we didn’t have a fridge in our hotel room and we were getting on our cruise ship the next morning.
The final place I was able to eat in New York was the Shake Shack Terminal 4 / Gate B23 & B37, Jamaica New York 11430. By the time we finally got off the ship upon our return from our 12 day cruise, got to the airport, and checked our bags we were starving. I mean, as if we hadn’t eaten until our hearts content for the previous 12 days. I ordered a SmokeShack (cheeseburger topped with all-natural applewood smoked bacon, cherry chopped pepper and ShackSauce) with an order of crinkle cut fries. Oh. M. GEE! It was so delicious. I’d definitely say one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten. I was immediately drawn in by the values their company stands on: good ingredients. They serve ‘100% all-natural Angus beef, vegetarian fed, humanely raised and source verified. No hormones or antibiotic – EVER.’ I mean, wow. No pink stuff in their meat… I’ll take it! It was delicious! I only wished I would have had room for a shake, I’m sure I would have loved it!
Of all the yummy things we were able to eat, there is still a long list of places that were recommended to us we just didn’t have time for that I’d love to try on our next visit(s):
- Halal Guys Food Cart (For a gyro. I thought about you each time I saw a street cart Amber, I just didn’t have time!!!)
- Chelsea Market
- Normas (For the French toast & orange juice)
- Cornelia Street Cafe
- ABC Kitchen
- Carnegie Deli
- Artichoke Pizza (For a slice of the artichoke pizza)
- City Bakery (For their hot chocolate & homemade marshmallows)
- Pomme Frites
- The Meatball Shop
- Schmackary’s
- Levian Bakery
- City Cakes (For the 1/2 lb. Snickerdoodle cookie)
- Rice To Riches
- Cafe Lalo (Where Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan meet up in You’ve Got Mail)
- Momofuku Milk Bar (For the Crack or Candy Bar Pie)
- Serendipity 3 (For the frozen hot chocolate)
I hope you enjoyed seeing NYC through our eyes, we sure can’t wait to go back! Let me know what you think. Have you been before? Where have you eaten that you loved? Add to my list of ‘must eat’ restaurants!
Pat Yulo
Is there a video for making these mini cannoli cups? I searched unsuccessfully and didn’t find it.
susan
Just wanted to confirm that you can pre make the cannoli shells the night before as well as the filling?
If so, I would add the filling once I got to my event.
Maria
Can you freeeze?
mariamsalavi
Loved the connoli cups! Just made a batch…one question, how far ahead can you make these for a party? I’m wondering if I can make these the night before, in particular, the ricotta filling. What an elegant recipe; thanks for sharing :)
Yvonne
Fabulous! I wouldn’t make them more than a couple of days ahead of time, a day ahead I would shoot for – but two should be fine! Thanks for checking them out, enjoy!
Rich
Absolutely love the site!
Yvonne
Thank you so much! Happy to have you!
What a fun dessert! I love that you shared your trip. As a fellow foodie, I can get excited seeing all the fun places you ate at. Thanks for sharing!
Yvonne
Thank YOU for coming by to check it out!
Looks like such a fun trip! I would love to go there someday! And these cannoli cups?? Amazing!
Yvonne
Thanks Sheena, it was such a blast!
First, I LOVE how simple these cannoli cups are to make! :) And second, it looks like you had a fabulous time in the Big Apple. I have only been there once and it was just for one long, exhausting whirlwind of a day. But I would love to go back, spend more time, and experience more.
Yvonne
One day! Oh man, you MUST go back!!!
It was so much fun reading about your trip to New York! It sounds like you had a fabulous times. I’ve always wanted to go to Patsy’s! Maybe one of these days I’ll make it there.
Yvonne
It was indeed fabulous. Patsy’s was SO delicious!!!! You definitely need to get there some time :D
What a wonderful trip and love that you shared so many places to dine in New York! I’ve visited once and now I want to go again! Love your cute mini cannoli cups!
Yvonne
Everything mini I fall in love with, glad you love the cannoli cups!
I have always wanted to do a culinary tour of New York I’m so jealous! All these dishes and experiences look wonderful! And your cannoli cups look divine :)
Yvonne
There were so many more places I wish we had more time for, guess that means another trip is in order! Come with ;)
I love how easy this recipe is! Your trip to NYC looks like fun, lots of good food there, right? Glad you enjoyed it!
Yvonne
Thanks Kristin. Our trip was unbelievable, the food… impeccable!
Oh my gosh, now I just want to go to NYC and eat everything in sight. Those frozen hot cocoas are on my list for sure, and I am definitely going to make these cannoli cups! You are the culinary genius!
Yvonne
Me too… again!! And take me with you.. I MUST go back!
I loved reading abut your culinary tour of New York, and I love the city also. I hope to get back there one day. I have to make these Cannoli cups. I have wonton wrappers in the fridge and will try these.
Yvonne
Thanks for stopping by to read it Michelle! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, and I too can’t wait to get back there!
Yvonne
Thanks for reading Michelle! I dream almost daily of going back, I sure did love it a lot! You should definitely make the cannoli cups, they are wonderful!
Kay Bodkin
Enjoyed your eating experiences in New York! My very first trip to NYC was aboard an American Airlines DC6, which the crew was “ferrying” back to LaGuardia from another city (no passengers!)
Because it was my first trip (about 1858, I think) the Captain circled as low as he could over Manhattan, shortly before sunset. It was a sight I’ll never forget!! And, thus, began my initial New York City experiences. As a “stewardess” for American Airlines, in those days, I flew there regularly on three day trips from my home in Tulsa, OK. Most of my food tips, at that point, came from crew members who were regulars to the city! Not all were well known, but I’m so glad I had those tips, for many of the spots are no longer in business! One of my favorites was a small Restaurant at 42nd & Second Streets, called “Rockey Lee’s Chu Chu Bianco”. Never did find out what those last words meant; but the Pizza and house salad was superb! In those days, Frank Sinatra and gang regularly enjoyed late night gatherings. The Pizza was jus as you described at Patsy’s, unusually thin crust, pristine flavors of each topping, sometimes with a touch of “too-dark” edges! (I could never call it burned!) Those were the early days of wht became known as brick oven fired pizza, I assume. After three years of flying with American, I went on to a career in Journalism; and over the years spent a lot of time each year in NYC, covering among other things, “FASHION Week”, aka The New York Couture Group’s Fashion Week, coordinated by the famous Eleanor Lambert. My food opportunities were definitely more upscale in those later years, as the Press cadre was treated to some of the finest restaurants in the city. My adventures with the city and its food are too numerous to relay; but I thought the coincidence of your description of the food at Patsy’s was marked; and I just had to comment on the similarity. Your experimental list shall become mine for my next visit to the city, as I haven’t been in years! I really miss those times! I’m so glad to hear your husband’s plan for your brief visit worked out so happily for you both; and that he, too, was willing to try some new things. Thank you for sharing your first trip with your readers! it was really fun for me to read! And, to add a final note, my first Cannoli experience was in Boston’s Italian district among warehouses, etc. I have NEVER HAD BETTER CANNOLI’S than eating them in the North end of Boston, carrying them out in our hands, as we walked along the bustling sidewalks near the ever-favorite of many, “Durgin-Park”
Kay Bodkin
As a P.S. to my lengthy comment, embarrassingly, I found several errors! My first trip was in 1958, not 1858, obviously! Also wanted to mention that on the wrap sight you mentioned, I could not locate a sales outlet near my part of the U.S., Tulsa, OK. I would really like to try your Cannoli Cups. They sound terrific!!
Yvonne
Kay, I’m so happy you stopped by to read about my adventures! I’m even MORE happy that you left that super awesome long comment to let me know about your fun adventures! What exciting times in New York it sounds like you’ve had. I can’t wait to visit again, I’ll have to try some of your recommendations! I did have one question though, I’m not quite sure what you mean about the ‘wraps sight’.. fill me in and I’ll be happy to clarify!