Cherry-Pistachio Cannoli Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups sweet cherries, pitted, plus 4 cherries on the stem
• 2 tbsp. chopped pistachios

Makes 4 Servings (1/2 cup per serving)

1. Combine the ricotta, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor; process until perfectly smooth, 1-2 minutes
2. Scrape the cheese mixture into a medium bowl; stir in the chocolate chips, orange zest, and vanilla. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
3. Stir the pitted cherries into the cheese mixture. Divide the cannoli cream evenly among 4 dessert bowls. Sprinkle with the pistachios and top each with a cherry in the stem. Serve at once.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the WW Best-Ever Desserts Cookbook. If you love Italian food or dessert, this treat is for you. A cannoli is a Sicilian dessert that is consisted of a pastry shell filled with ricotta cheese topped with nuts and/or chocolate chips. This spin on cannoli is both flavorful and filling. The combination of dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts, orange, vanilla and cherries is absolutely delicious. If you don't want to eat this as a pudding, I highly recommend using this cannoli cream as a filling for cannolis. The cannolis will be deliciously filling. The points value will go up but they are worth it.

Dark Chocolate Bark with Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 6 oz. bittersweet dark chocolate, finely chopped

Makes 20 pieces (2 per serving)

 

1. Heat the oven to 350 F. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, or until fragrant. Cool, the coarsely chop.
2. Place 4 ounces of the chopped chocolate in a medium glass bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave for 30 seconds longer, or until just melted. (If the chocolate hasn't melted, microwave an additional 20 seconds.) Add the remaining chocolate to the bowl, stirring until melted. Stir in the walnuts.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper. Spread the warm chocolate mixture on the sheet into a 6 X 9-inch rectangle. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, or until firm but not brittle. Cut or break into about 20 pieces and serve, or refrigerate for later (the bark will keep for 2 weeks in an airtight container).

WW POINTS VALUE: 2 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Super Quick Cookbook. These treat will be your new guilty pleasures after you make them. You can have your chocolate and eat it too. What makes these treats even sweeter is that there is no granulated sugar. You can use any kind of nut such as almonds or macadamia nuts in this recipe and your treats will be delicious. If you want to add and extra kick of flavor to these treats, I highly recommend adding a touch of orange zest in with the chocolate and your treats will get an extra kick of zing.