FoCo Joe: PB & J Cannoli

By Joseph Kind, The Dartmouth Staff | 11/2/15 12:04pm

I was in a bit of a scramble this week. After a jam-packed weekend, I could not afford to spend my Sunday evenings in FoCo, as I usually do. I had made plans to order in Boloco with my friend instead. I know – WHO AM I AND WHAT HAVE I BECOME. But alas, I cannot let my dear readers down, my faithful followers who are already dealing with reading my column only every other week.

So I went into FoCo Sunday night with a mission – to make a dessert that won’t ruin my Boloco dinner.
Below, I present the peanut butter and jelly cannoli.

Something in me has changed this term, dear readers. It is easier than ever for me to come up with concoctions completely on a whim. Rarely now do I go to Instagram or Buzzfeed for inspiration. Rarely now do I even enter FoCo with a predetermined concept in mind. Today, I happened to walk over to the desserts section — to start up the idea machine in my head, I always check to see what is being served for regular desserts that night — and I knew right away what I was going to do. I hope we can all be so lucky in our sweet endeavors.

The preparation for this dessert, unlike many of the past creations this term, is quite easy.

Step 1: Grab two small plates. On one plate, place two FoCo cannolis — or however many you are planning to make. On the second plate, place equal amounts peanut butter and jelly from the spreads section.

Step 2: With a knife, remove the insides from the cannolis and place them on the plate with peanut butter and jelly– assuming there is still room on this plate.

Step 3: Here’s where things get interesting. I made two cannolis for this week’s dessert, both in very little time. My first cannoli was made by placing peanut butter in one side of the cannoli and jelly on the other. Simple yet elegant, no? However – and J. Henry “Jimmy” Patrick ’19 deserves the shout-out for this – you may want to mix the peanut butter and jelly together first, using a fork and a knife, and then insert said mixture into the cannoli for a more refined experience. I am a simple man and was happy with both cannolis, but Mr. Patrick indeed made a good thing better.

Step 4: Enjoy! This dessert is so easy and so simple. A tasty PB and J sandwich is good, but a commitment. and this bite-sized treat is a perfect serving size. It’s certainly a relatively healthy alternative to the Boston cream pie I had on Halloween (in addition to all the Halloween candy I bought for myself from CVS… yikes!).


Joseph Kind, The Dartmouth Staff