Brooklyn father-son duo serving up original ‘giant’ cannolis at famed NYC bakery
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.
Giant cannolis weighing up to 5 pounds are selling like hotcakes at Brooklyn’s famed Circo’s Pastry Shop, say owners Antonino and Anthony Pierdipino.“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.Hilton drops Minneapolis hotel that lied about ICE agent ban 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.“They like to learn what the tradition was,” Anthony said of the younger crowd. “It has a lot of soul behind it.”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.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.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.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.” 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. He said he hopes his young sons, 10 and 8, will eventually be able to take the reins of Circo’s Pastry Shop.“I was 11 years old when I started coming to the shop to help out Pop, and I saw the love that he has , it spread throughout the whole family for this shop,” Anthony recalled.Zohran Mamdani stands by radical 'housing justice' appointee — as Trump admin warns NYC 'should be on notice'Rikki SchlottEric McCormack’s ex scores ‘Will & Grace’ money, $10K a month in spousal support in divorce settlementMystery deepens in case of slain Ohio dentist and his wife Giant cannolis weighing up to 5 pounds are selling like hotcakes at Brooklyn’s famed Circo’s Pastry Shop, say owners Antonino and Anthony Pierdipino.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.”
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