Pizzelle

Easy, Beautiful Pizzelle Cookies

These cookies are a bit different from the drop sugar cookies I just shared, aren’t they!? Instead of thick, sweet, and super chewy, pizzelle are incredibly thin (rivaled in thinness only by my lace cookies), lightly sweetened, and entirely, irresistibly, crisp.If you’re looking for something a little different for your Christmas cookie tray, this cookie is it. Their anise flavor is unique (at least, compared to many common American cookies!) and their pretty patterns are delicate and beautiful. While standing over the iron making only two cookies at a time can be a bit time consuming, the batter comes together in a flash (and each set only needs about 45 seconds to bake… I did the math for you: that’s less than 10 minutes of ironing time!). So, without further ado, let’s get to making these Pizzelle cookies!

What You Need

I just have a few notes on just a few of the ingredients!

Brown sugar. This is not necessarily a traditional pizzelle ingredient… in fact pizzelle aren’t particularly sweet cookies. Of course, I like to amp up the sweetness factor just a bit (I do this with my madeleines as well!), and I love the flavor from the molasses in the brown sugar. If you’d like, you can leave this out without any other alterations to the recipe.Anise extract. This is the traditional flavor used (it’s black licorice flavor). It’s commonly used in Italian desserts, such as biscotti. You can substitute anise seeds if you’d like, or you can leave out this flavoring entirely or substitute another favorite. Vanilla extract. Even though I use anise extract in my pizzelle, I still include vanilla in my recipe, too, for a well-rounded flavor. Baking powder. Baking powder for a cookie that’s not rising (I mean, we’re pressing it in an iron) might seem odd, but this helps give the cookie its crisp but not break-your-teeth texture.

Fun Fact: Anise seeds are a commonly used ingredient in sausage as well. When Zach first smelled the sizzling pizzelle batter in the iron, he actually thought I was making sausage, not cookies!

How to Make Pizzelle

Your iron may look a bit different than mine and your pizzelle may need to cook for a bit more or less time, use the first two cookies as a gauge for the rest! The numbered steps below correspond with the step-by-step pictures above. Tip: Pizzelle are fragile and flexible immediately after baking. They’ll become crisp as they cool, but can be shaped while they are still warm. Wrap them around a wooden cone to make pizzelle cones and fill with ice cream or homemade whipped cream! Tip: Your first two pizzelle are almost guaranteed to be fails. Even if you were light with your oil, there’s usually too much or the iron’s just not perfectly hot… just use these as your practice pizzelles and your next two should look much better!