Pizzelle Recipe

There are certain things that go hand in hand with Christmas. Pine trees, snowflakes and lots of tasty snacks! One of these is Pizzelle. These crisp Italian waffle cookies are an absolute treat, and when dusted with some powder sugar are super Christmassy too! By how do you make Pizzelle? Well, read our homemade Pizzelle recipe to find out.

How To Make Pizzelles

Pizzelle are like prettier versions of Dutch waffles. Aside from the way that they look there is also a subtle difference in the taste. Whereas waffles rely heavily on cinnamon, to give them their flavor, our Pizzelle Recipe relies on a subtle hint of anise to give it a distinctive taste.

Now, if you want traditional pizzelle you are going to need some special equipment. The distinctive lattice pattern is achieved by cooking the Pizzelle in a Pizzelle iron. However, if you don’t have one, it is not a deal breaker. You’ll be able to read in our tips and tricks below other ways to make Pizzelle without an official iron.

Oh, and to get the frosting effect you are going to have to use powder sugar. This is optional however. It works best if you don’t just dump it on with a spoon. A teaspoon at a time and a gentle sieve will have your Pizzelle perfectly coated and looking their best.

Pizzelle Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Recipe by Laura Ritterman Course: DessertCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

98

kcal

You can be enjoying this pizelle recipe in as little as 20 minutes. So quick and easy to make this Italian classic, a dessert your entire family will love.

Ingredients

• 3 Medium Eggs

• 3/4 cups 3/4 Fine White Sugar (Caster Sugar Is Perfect)

• A Few Scant Drops of Anise Extract (Or 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract If You Don’t Like Anise)

• The Zest of Half A Lemon

• 1/2 Cup 1/2 Softened Butter

• 1 3/4 Cups 1 3/4 all purpose white flour

• 2 tsp 2 Baking Powder

• A Large Pinch of Salt

• 2 Tablespoons 2 of Powder Sugar

Directions

• Preheat your pizzelle iron to a medium/high heat.
• In the bowl of a food mixer, or by hand add the eggs and sugar. Beat on a medium/high setting. Once it is fluffy add the butter and keep beating until you have a pale golden mixture that looks super light and airy
• Add the lemon zest to the butter, egg and sugar mixture and fold in with a spatula.
• Take another large bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
• Little by little, add a spoonful of the flour mixture to the beaten egg and sugar. Gently fold in taking care not to knock the air out of the mixture. Repeat this step until all of the flour is incorporated. You are aiming to have a silky-smooth batter.
• Open the pizzelle iron and place a sizeable dollop of batter in the center allowing it to spread slightly. Close the lid of the iron and cook for around 1 minute until the pizzelle is just the other side of golden
• Using a wooden spatula, flip the pizzelle of your iron and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with powder sugar for the ultimate presentation.

Notes

• The key part of the flavoring is Anise, so it is absolutely vital that you don’t miss this step. There are alternatives however that will produce a similar taste. If you have fennel seeds, a small pinch ground to a fine powder will make a suitable alternative.

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Tips and Tricks

This is particularly important with the eggs and sugar. You must whip them frantically until they have turned a really pale-yellow colour. If you can achieve soft peaks then you have nailed it.

• Making Pizzelle without a Pizzelle iron? No problem. If you have a waffle iron this will work equally as well, you’ll get exactly the same taste, they just might be slightly thicker and with less detail.

The easiest option is to bake the pizzelle on a tray. These are less visually appealing but they will taste the same. Just bake the batter thinly spread on a tray in a 350’ Fahrenheit oven until the edges are just browning then remove and cool before cutting into bite sized biscuits.

• If you don’t like the taste of aniseed at all then feel free to play jazz. You never know you might come up with the best Pizzelle recipe ever! Chocolate, fruit extracts, vanilla and cinnamon are all worthy alternatives that are worth a try.

• You want your Pizzelle to have an ever so slight bend before they break. The best way to avoid them from becoming brittle is to avoid overcooking them. You want them to be a light honey color, no darker.

• If you are making these at Christmas there is a fair chance that you are going to be busy. If you need to plan your time this Pizzelle cookie recipe can be made in advance. Just make the dough and ensure it is stored in an airtight container. It will keep in the refrigerator for around 3 days. Just make sure you give it a while to get back up to temperature if you go for this option.

Conclusion

Easier than you thought? We’ll be honest, it isn’t difficult to make our authentic pizzelle recipe. You might need a little patience, and if the first couple aren’t quite right, well, consider them a little reward for you to snack on whilst you make the rest. Enjoy this pizzelle cookies recipe at home.

What is your favorite flavoring for pizzelle? Tell us in the comments below.