Inspired by the popular Sicilian street food, these sweet panelle are made with chickpea flour and stuffed with a sweet ricotta and chocolate filling. They are also baked instead of fried and gluten free!

Several weeks ago I discovered the existence of a sweet version of Sicilian panelle, or chickpea fritters. Panelle are a popular Sicilian street food commonly found in the province of Palermo, Sicily. This sweet version of panelle is filled with ricotta and dusted with sugar. Needless to say I was intrigued!

You know how much I love all desserts filled with ricotta such as Cannoli with ricotta filling; cassatelle with ricotta; ricotta pie; and the list goes on. Now I’ll be honest with you, I fully intended on trying to recreate this fried version that I stumbled upon however my experiments turned out to be epic failures.

That is, except for this version which is entirely my interpretation of sweet panelle. When my husband and children tasted these, they insisted I share the recipe with you, so here it is!

Inspiration behind this recipe:

This recipe is made only with chickpea flour and therefore is gluten free. The dough is based on the shortbread cookie recipe I used to make Gingerbread Cookies without Molasses as well as my Nutella and Pistachio filled Heart Cookies. I basically used chickpea flour instead of all-purpose flour.

The filling is almost identical to my cannoli ricotta filling and consists of ricotta sweetened with powdered sugar with a few chocolate chips tossed in. I must admit, the chocolate chips make all the difference in this filling, so don’t skip them! Finally, I decided to forego the frying and chose to bake them instead. So they’re a little healthier, right?

Where can I find chickpea flour?

Chickpea flour is available in most grocery stores. I usually find it in the same aisle as other gluten free flours. You can also find it in the international section of the grocery store containing Indian food products. Also note that it may also be called garbanzo flour. Alternately, you can purchase chickpea flour on-line here.

What does chickpea flour taste like?

Baked foods containing chickpea flour obviously do not have the neutral flavor of all-purpose flour. While I can’t exactly say that the dough for these panelle tastes like chickpeas themselves, the flavor is definitely earthy and nutty. Chickpea flour also offers a texture that is more dense than that in baked goods made with flour.

The result is a crisp slightly sweet dough sandwiching a sweet and creamy ricotta filling. Together, these flavors are perfectly balanced. It’s the perfect gluten free option for baking with and has the benefit of being rich in protein and fiber! Now, let’s take a look at how I made these sweet panelle.

How to make Sweet Panelle with Ricotta Filling (Baked, Gluten Free)

The following are step by step instructions with images. You’ll find the complete printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Prepare the dough:

Add cubed unsalted butter and sugar to the bowl of your food processer. Process until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, baking powder and salt, and blend until smooth. Add sifted chickpea flour in 2 batches. Pulse until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough wraps itself around the blade into a ball as shown.

Transfer to your work surface, flatten into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine ricotta, powdered sugar and chocolate chips for the filling.

Remove from the refrigerator and divide the dough in 4 pieces. Work with 1 piece at a time keeping the remaining dough wrapped to prevent from drying.

Roll the dough with a rolling pin on a floured surface to a thickness of about 3 mm, or as thin as possible. Use an 8 cm round cutter to cut circles. I used the handy empanada cutter that I have on hand. Other tools can include round cookie cutters or even an ordinary drinking glass.

Add a heaping teaspoon of ricotta mixture to the center of half the circle cut outs. Dab the perimeter with the mixture of an egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp milk. Place a circle cut out over the ricotta filling, pressing down lightly on the edges to ensure both halves stick together. Place on parchment paper covered baking sheets. Continue with the remaining pieces of dough. Brush each sweet panelle with egg yolk/milk mixture.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until both the tops and underneath are golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Tips and suggestions for making Sweet Panelle with Ricotta Filling (Baked, Gluten Free)

On handling chickpea flour dough:

Don’t forget to sift the flour first as it is more dense than all-purpose flour.

For best results roll the chickpea flour dough as thin as possible. A dough that is too thick may result in panelle that are too dense and chewy.

The dough can be sticky when rolling. Therefore use chickpea flour (to maintain a gluten free recipe) or all-purpose flour as needed (on your work surface and on rolling pin) when rolling the dough.

Do I need to strain the ricotta for this recipe?

This all depends on the brand of ricotta you use. The ricotta available in my area is not very watery and so I did not have to strain it. If your ricotta is watery, place it in cheesecloth covered sieve over a bowl. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours to allow the excess water to drain.

How do I store Sweet Panelle with Ricotta Filling (Baked, Gluten Free)?

Since they have a ricotta filling, I stored my sweet panelle in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze them?

You can definitely freeze them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then bring to room temperature before serving dusted with powdered sugar.

More ricotta filled dessert recipes you might enjoy!

If you give this recipe a try let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Feel free to Pin it for later. Buon appetito!

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Sweet Panelle with Ricotta Filling (Baked, Gluten Free)