Italian Waffle w/Cassata (cannoli cream)

Happy National Waffle Day! Of course I had to put my spin on this fun holiday.

Craving something sweet but don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen? Check out these sweet delicious, and easy Italian Waffles. Thanks to Pillsbury for the great foundation of these waffles, they can be made in a matter of minutes.

I love to bring homemade goodies when I visit friends. I wanted to make something yummy but didn't want to put on the oven. I stared at my mini-waffle iron, I wondered if my crazy idea would work. It not only did it work but they turned out so good!

Let's get baking you'll need:

1 Pillsbury Cinnamon Refrigerated Rolls

1 package of softened cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Cinnamon sugar and melted frosting for the top

Heat the waffle iron, keep in mind, that you can use a larger waffle iron and cut them in quarters. Put the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls - one at a time in the waffle iron.

How cute are these? At this point, a scoop of ice cream between the hot waffles would make me happy too. Resist eating all the hot waffles and put them to the side.

Next, we'll make the cannoli cream. It's extremely easy to make! Whip the room temperature cream cheese slowly (I MEAN SLOWLY or you'll have a powdered sugar explosion all over your kitchen. Been there and done that!) Once blended, add the vanilla and chocolate chips. By all means, you can add more chocolate chips if you desire but I was fearful it would be too sweet.

As with all my recipes, they are only suggestions. If the spirit moves you, and you want to add cinnamon chips or caramel chips, go for it. I bet mashed sweet potatoes with candied dry cranberries would be awesome to add at Thanksgiving. Throw caution to the wind and let your freak flag fly!!!

I brought some for a friend to taste, who thought they were perfect. I'm from the old school that you can never have too much cannoli cream, so I loaded it on.

I waited for my ancestors to say from beyond the grave "enough filling" but that never happened. I would like to offer you a lower-calorie version of this dessert but I couldn't come up with one. My suggestion would be to eat this delightful as you're walking on the treadmill.

Top the filled waffle with another cooled waffle and drizzle frosting on top. To round off the flavors, I sprinkled "fairy dust" (cinnamon sugar) on top. My daughter use to call cinnamon sugar, "fairy dust" when she was little and had it on her toast. Ahhh to have her little again, sorry, that thought goes thru every mother's mind at one time or another. Last year we're blessed with a grand daughter and I can't wait to bake for her too.

Enjoy! This semi-homemade recipe is made from ingredients that you probably have on hand already. I always have cream cheese and Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in my refrigerator. Hey, you never know when guests will drop in!