Pizzelles are light, crispy and delicious Italian cookies often served at weddings and at the holidays, although they are tasty enough to serve any time! Our favorites are anise flavored and citrus vanilla, from fiori di sicilia, so we make them both ways. Affiliate links are used in this post to link to items I am discussing.
It is no secret that when I started blogging I really did not know what I was doing. I knew I liked to write and I knew I liked to share the recipes I was trying, and that is about it (let’s not even discuss the photography). Concepts like “duplicate content” meant nothing to me. And I did not think twice of sharing a recipe I didn’t really like!
Somehow, despite the odds against it, one recipe I did not like much, Lemon Vanilla Pizzelles, became one of the most visited posts on this blog! In the meantime I did indeed learn about duplicate content and became determined to not share another pizzelle recipe until I found one I loved. So every year, literally, because Christmas is not Christmas in the Tabacca household until there are pizzelles, my mom and I tried new pizzelle recipe and flavor combinations. And I do believe, after 7 years of experimentations, we have finally found a recipe that I love, will use again, and can recommend without hesitation. Ironically it was sitting on my cookbook shelf all along, in the The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook
Most people (in America anyway) think of anise when they think of pizzelles. I love the anise pizzelles, and yet I always wanted something more, maybe because I don’t generally love licorice flavors (the pizzelle is generally the exception). I was on the right track with my lemon vanilla experiments, but it wasn’t until I discovered Fiori Di Sicilia Extract
If you have been wondering what a pizzelle is this whole while, wonder no longer! Pizzelles are Italian cookies, originally made in the south central area of Abruzzo in the 8th century. Like many famous dishes, more than one town claims to have invented them first and presumably nobody really knows the truth of it. In Italy they are often served at weddings, whereas here in America we see them most at Christmas time. Pizzelles are made with irons similar to waffle irons and these days are a simple undertaking with nonstick irons made just for making pizzelles (my grandma on the other hand made hers with a bulky cast iron mold you worked on the cooktop). If you decide to invest in a pizzelle iron–which I of course recommend–you can also use it for making other wafer cookies and even ice cream cones!
Adapted from King Arthur Flour.
- 1 3/4 cups (206 g) AP flour
- 2 t baking powder
- scant 1/2 t fine sea salt
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 t fiori di sicilia, for citrus vanilla cookies (for traditional anise, instead use a few drops of anise oil)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter, melted
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Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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Beat the eggs and sugar with a whisk until frothy and well combined.
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Beat in the flavoring--either the fiori di sicilia for citrus vanilla or the anise oil for traditional anise.
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Stir in the the flour mixture--you can still use the whisk, but do not beat, instead only mix until smooth.
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Switching to a spatula, stir in the melted butter.
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Heat your pizzelle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions. The batter will thicken a bit while it sits--that is ok.
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Cook the pizzelles according to pizzelle iron's instructions. Mine take about 2 minutes--when you carefully life them off of the iron, immediately transfer to waxed paper to cool completely.
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Cool completely before stacking in a tin.
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I am so glad i found this blog.. I am going to try the citrus recipe.. For my anise pizzelles i use anise seeds and crush them in my hands a bit.. I also sprinkle the pizzelles with powdered sugar.. Everyone in my family loves them..
Thank you! The last year or 2 (gee I wonder what was going on?) I have lost a little inspiration but comments like this inspire me to keep going! And I love the idea of using crushed anise seeds. My mom always used anise oil, but I will definitely consider that. Burlap and Barrel has single origin anise seeds (or they did when I bought them anyway) that are particularly fragrant (no affiliation, I just love cutting out the middle man and getting fresher spices).