Pizzelle have always been a special cookie to me,
just one of the many treats I learned to make from my Great Aunt Lucy. She was a master when it came to desserts. Her pies and cookies were infamous and by far the best I’ve ever had, even to this day. And so were her pizzelle. No one could do pies or pizzelle like Aunty Lucy.
I loved when she would bring us a tin (you know, the shortbread tins) filled with fresh pizzelle. But what I loved even more, was when I would visit and we would make them together. I remember pulling out the ingredients and the pizzelle maker from the pantry closet, being careful to avoid the mouse trap she always kept set up in the back corner. Then we’d tie on aprons and get to work, mixing everything up on the floral plastic table cloth covered table in the middle of her kitchen. I definitely did more taste testing than helping, but I know these baking sessions are what instilled a love of pizzelle (and seven layer bars and everything but the kitchen sink cookies and pineapple coconut cream pie) in me.
WHAT ARE PIZZELLE
While I’m sure many of you (especially my Italians) are familiar with pizzelle, for those who don’t know, as you might have already guessed, they are indeed an Italian cookie. The name pizzelle translates to mean “little pizza”, from the Italian word “pizze” which means flat and round. Because, yes, these cookies are indeed flat and round (kind of like the name of another Italian favorite that derives from the same word, if ya catch my drift).
Like most Italian recipes, the recipe for pizzelle is quite simple and uses only a few basic ingredients. They’re not at all complicated to make, and the most time consuming part about them is simply the time it takes to make them on the pizzelle iron, which, as an impatient child could get a bit frustrating (Who are we kidding? As an adult, I still get impatient and frustrated waiting for them to cook. Because tbh who wants to wait for dessert??). Luckily, there are “lots of mess ups” to snack throughout the process! Ha! And the cookies are worth the cooking process, let me tell you, because they are perfectly light, crisp, buttery and oh-so-delicious.
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS
First, like I mentioned before this is a simple recipe with simple ingredients. If you find a recipe telling you to use all sorts of crazy things with all sorts of complicated steps, I’m telling you, it ain’t it. Find another recipe (like this one, shameless plug). Secondly, because you are only using a few ingredients, make sure those ingredients are fresh and high-quality (like really good vanilla and farm fresh eggs). Something else I love to do is to brown the butter. It isn’t at all necessary (Aunt Lucy never browned her butter for her pizzelle), but I just love the extra golden, buttery, slightly nutty flavor that it lends to the cookies. Especially if you end up adding in citrus, which again, is not at all necessary, but, omg! paired with the browned butter, mama mia! It really elevates these cookies to a whole new level!
NOTES ON HOW TO ENJOY + STORE THEM
For me, my favorite way to enjoy pizzelle is hot off the press, but they’re also pretty darn perfect with morning coffee and afternoon or evening tea. They’re wonderful paired with fruit cup or vanilla ice-cream, or with fruit cup over vanilla ice-cream. I also love using them to make ice-cream sandwiches (try vanilla or coffee ice-cream, then dip them in chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt and/or chopped nuts! Perfecto!) or in place of graham crackers when making s’mores. Another delicious thing you can do with them is, when they’re hot off the pizzelle iron, you can shape them into cannoli shells, which, let me tell you, is a real treat. Stored in an airtight container, the pizzelle last for days, making them perfect to keep on hand, for bake sales, for the holidays or even for gifting (they also hold up well in shipping).
While Aunt Lucy may no longer be with me in person to make pizzelle, I cherish her recipe dearly and feel like she is with me in spirit (most likely telling me to stop nibbling on all the cookies!) every time I make a batch. I hope you enjoy her recipe as much as I do!
