BY SHALEEN DESTEFANO
Being married to an Italian, the pizzelle is a cookie that is very familiar in our home around the holidays. But for those of you who don’t know, let’s talk about this OG cookie that’s been gracing Italian celebrations for centuries. Light, crispy, and subtly sweet, these round beauties have been the life of Italian weddings and holiday tables for generations. An Italian gathering without pizzelle? Unheard of. Some might even suggest “Sacrilege.”
The name itself has history baked in: pizze means “round and flat” (yup, like pizza), and elle translates to “small.” Together, they form a bite-sized tradition that’s practically sacred. The classic pizzelle is flavored with anise, giving it that bold, black licorice vibe that we LOVE. Apparently though, there are people out in the world, that don’t appreciate this flavor. Again, sacrilege! For you naysayers, you can keep this recipe simple and nix the anise and replace it with vanilla. Ready to try a piece of Italian tradition?
Ingredients
6 eggs
2 sticks butter, melted
2 tablespoons liquid anise
1 teaspoon crushed anise seeds (optional, but we love the flavor)
3 1/2 cups flour*
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups sugar
Confectioner’s sugar
Directions
Plug in your pizzelle maker and get her heated up! (You can find these on amazon for under $40 or if we’re neighbors, you can borrow mine.)
Grab a big bowl and add your wet ingredients: 6 eggs, 2 sticks melted butter, and 2 tablespoons liquid anise and anise seeds. Whisk to combine.
Add 3 ½ cups flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 1/3 cups sugar to the bowl and stir to combine. Your batter should be thick and sticky!
Per the instructions of your pizzelle maker, make sure it is fully heated and ready to go. Place a spoonful of batter onto each pizzelle form and get started. You can decide how dark you want to make them, playing with the perfect timing on your pizzelle maker as you go along! This is part of the fun.
Have a tray cooling rack ready to place your pizzelle on as they come off the maker. It’s important that they cool and harden on a flat surface.
Your pizzelle are not complete until they have been sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar.
Mangia! Mangia!