For many years, I have been surrounded by pizzelles. Whether growing up in a predominately Italian neighborhood or having married into an Italian family, pizzelles were a dessert staple. Mostly found around the holidays, if you enjoyed pizzelles, someone would always make them for a family gathering or special occasion.
Back a few weeks ago, my mother-in-law gave my step-daughter, Kate, an old recipe for her grandmother's pizzelles. We started talking about growing up with people making pizzelles and discussed getting a pizzelle maker. My mother-in-law had a pizzelle maker but had lost the cord to the machine. I don't know how old it is but I am going to guess 30+ years. Jeff went online and found the cord to the Rival Pizzelle Maker on eBay and before I knew it, we were making pizzelles.
As much as I have used a waffle iron, I hadn't worked with pizzelles. I found a recipe in the box, yes, Rival's own Italian Pizzelle - "extra thin...extra crisp...extra special". I figured I would start with this recipe and then try some other flavors, maybe anise, lemon or pineapple citrus...YUM! I was amazed at how easy they were to make. The first pizzelles got stuck to the iron, but after that, it worked fine. Not bad for an old iron.
The cookies were light and crispy (I couldn't stop tasting them!) and I had a pretty good system going, place dough on iron, wait 3 minutes, take out of iron, place on cutting board, cut in half and cool on the rack. Within 30 minutes, I had all the pizzelles made and decided to make a batch of chocolate pizzelles. At the end of the hour, I had 80 half pizzelles ready to go.
I got the chocolate and vanilla bits melted and dipped one side of the pizzelles. I sprinkled them with either chopped pistachios or Heath Bar Toffee Bits. You can dip them in jimmies, nonpareils, nuts or chocolate. Be creative!
The pizzelles were perfect, very light and crispy. They were like potato chips, you couldn't eat just one. The chocolate and vanilla dip gave them a little bit of sweetness. PERFECT! The cookies went back to Emerson College with my son, Stephen, to Philadelphia with my son, Michael and South Boston with my daughter, Danielle. So far, they have been a big hit, with my son, Michael, texting "They were awesome, my whole house loved em".
YES - just what every MOM loves to hear.
If you have been considering getting a pizzelle maker, go for it! They were easy to make and a perfect dessert whether plain or dipped. I can't wait to make another batch!
Italian Pizzelle: (Rival Products)
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 3/4 cup of butter, melted
- 1-1/2 cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
Icing:
- 1/2 cup of pistachios, chopped
- 1 cup of vanilla chips
- 2 teaspoons of shortening
Preparation:
1. Preheat pizzelle iron, slightly greater than light.
2. In a medium bowl, add three eggs and beat with a whisk until blended. Add the sugar and whisk again.
3. Drizzle the butter into the mixture, whisking as it blends. Add the vanilla.
4. Using a spatula, add the flour and baking powder. Mix until incorporated.
5. Place a rounded tablespoon of dough on the pizzelle iron and cook according to directions.
6. Remove pizzelle for the iron, place on a cutting board and cut in half. Cool the pizzelle on a cookie rack.
7. Melt the vanilla chips and shortening in the microwave. Microwave in 30 second increments.
8. Dip the pizzelle halves in vanilla mixture and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Place the pizzelle on aluminum foil or parchment paper until they dry.
9. If you don't want to dip the pizzelles, you can sprinkle them with confectioner's sugar.
For Chocolate Pizzelle:
1. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa to the above mixture.
2. Chocolate Icing - 1 cup of semisweet chips and 2 teaspoons of shortening.
3. 1/2 cup of Heath Bar Toffee Bits
