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NYC shop peddles colossal 5-pound cannolis equal to ‘size of a teacup poodle’

nyc-shop-peddles-colossal-5-pound-cannolis-equal-to-‘size-of-a-teacup-poodle’
NYC shop peddles colossal 5-pound cannolis equal to ‘size of a teacup poodle’

Holy cannoli!

Giant cannolis “the size of a teacup poodle’’ have been selling like hotcakes at Brooklyn’s famed Circo’s Pastry Shop.

The massive 4- to 5-pound confections flew off the shelves this holiday season thanks partly to social media — where celebs such as Alec Baldwin and TLC’s “Cake Boss’’ Buddy Valastro have sung the praises of the 80-year-old Bushwick bakery.

Two men in a bakery kitchen decorating a cake, with one sifting powdered sugar over it.

Giant cannolis weighing up to 5 pounds are selling like hotcakes at Brooklyn’s famed Circo’s Pastry Shop, say owners Antonino (right) and Anthony Pierdipino. EMMY PARK

“I wanted to make something for the family,” owner Antonino “Nino” Pierdipino, 78, told The Post on Tuesday, referring to his colossal cannolis.

He said that while there are copycats in New Jersey and beyond, he was the first to bring the “giant” cannoli to New York City in the 1970s, when he took over the bakery from its original owner, Sebastino Circo.

The gargantuan goodie has since drawn fans from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, late ex-US President Ronald Reagan and actor Ray Romano.

Products from the sweet shop — whose mixers include some military versions dating back to World War I — are now also a hit with the increasingly hipster neighborhood’s Gen Z customers, said Pierdipino’s baker son, Anthony.

Large dessert with a golden bow, powdered sugar, cream, chocolate chips, and cherries.

The colossal cannoli costs $100 but could easily treat a family of six. EMMY PARK

“They like to learn what the tradition was,” Anthony said of the younger crowd. “It has a lot of soul behind it.”

The Knickerbocker Avenue bakery also sells sugary delicacies such as rainbow cookies, fig cookies and lobster tails.

A person in black gloves piping white cream with chocolate chips into a panettone wrapped in a gold bow.

Anthony said about 40 orders for the giant cannoli were completed over Christmas week in 2025. EMMY PARK

But its mega-cannolis — recently described as the size of a small dog by the food website Eater — are always the hit this time of year, selling for $100 and only made by special order.

“You make a show when you bring a family-sized cannoli,” said Anthony, 41.

He said about 40 orders were completed over Christmas week in 2025 and that the store still fulfills “year-round” requests averaging about six orders each week.

Two men from Circo's Pastry Shop holding a large decorated pastry.

A mural outside the bakery encourages passers-by to “snap a selfie with Nonno Nino.” EMMY PARK

The mega-cannoli takes about 5 minutes to assemble after 30 individual cannolis are made from scratch, placed inside its massive shell and filled to resemble one big cannoli.

The final touches include “blessing” the gargantuan treat with cherries, chocolate and powdered sugar.

The huge shell is made through the same generations-old techniques and recipes as traditional cannolis, Nino explained — with the dough rolled through a century-old dough roller and baked in a 1940s-era oven on baking sheets that predate Nino’s first day on the job in the 1960s.

People standing at a bakery counter with multiple display cases of pastries and cakes.

When Gen Z customers come inside the bustling shop, “they like to learn what the tradition was,” Anthony noted. “It has a lot of soul behind it.”  EMMY PARK

Several dough mixers came straight from a World War I Navy ship, Anthony noted.

The Sicily-born owner began working at the Bushwick bakery in 1966 “the first day he came off the boat,” his son said. He purchased the store in the 1970s when its original owner decided to retire.

Sebastino Circo opened the bakery in 1945, when the neighborhood was filled with immigrants from Sicily, Anthony said.

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He said he hopes his young sons, 10 and 8, will eventually be able to take the reins of Circo’s Pastry Shop.

In the meantime, he’s recruited them to occasionally help in the kitchen over the holiday season.

“I was 11 years old when I started coming to the shop to help out Pop, and I saw the love that he has [for it], it spread throughout the whole family for this shop,” Anthony recalled.

“It’s all about that great name that he built, and I want to preserve that.”

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