Image by Renee Shelton

Pizzelles are fun pastry treats. They can be served up by themselves, sandwiched between a sweet spread, or rolled and used as a holder for ice creams (like the photo below) or mousses. After baking, they can be crispy and fragile or more tender by how much batter you put on the iron and what the ingredients are. Pizzelles can be flavored with whatever you desire, and common flavors are anise, lemon, and vanilla, with chocolate being favored by chocoholics. Anyway you look at it, pizzelles are versatile.

Electric or stove top versions of pizzelle makers.

Pizzelles are thin, waffle-style, Italian cookies. While they are eaten year round, they are especially popular around the Christmas or Easter holidays. Pizzelles are made with a special iron, very similar to a waffle iron. When pressed down, the plates will end up creating a thin and highly decorative cookie. The designs vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and popular styles include geometric, arabesque, floral, and some irons even have script on the plates to spell out a word or brand after baking. Most often found round, pizzelle makers also come in square and rectangular shapes. The designs are generally different on each side of the pizzelle maker so when it is removed, a different design is on opposing sides of the cookie. When the entire plate is used (a full cookie size) it will be about the size of your hand or even larger. If you want mini pizzelles, simply use less batter in the machine and place it directly in the center.

Classic recipes for pizzelle cookies have the ingredients eggs, flour, sugar, melted butter, leavening (such as baking powder), and flavoring. Some recipes have no leavening at all. The recipe I use at home is adapted from the one that came with my pizzelle maker (20 years and counting, and still producing great pizzelles). Pizzelle recipes are very similar to waffle batters, and finely chopped nuts can be stirred into the batter before being dropped onto the hot iron.

I most often make pizzelles for use as a filling holder and use the cookies in a number of ways. I like to use a cone shape for fancy mini ice cream cones, leave them flat for cookie or ice cream sandwiches, or roll them up using a dowel immediately upon removing them from the iron for mousse or cream fillings. That is, if I can keep them away from the kids long enough: once pizzelles are made and stacked with powdered sugar or formed and cooled, they are irresistible to munch on. Try the recipe below for basic pizzelles. Use whatever flavoring you prefer instead of the vanilla for a change of pace.