A little tid-bit about myself. I am Italian. Well 50% of me is Italian, which I’d say it still pretty good, as several folks my age can’t really say where they came from. My uncle recently narrowed it down to the very village that my Father’s side of the family was raised. Although there might be some mafia in there, so don’t cross me… ;)

With that background, it seems only right to enjoy food, but not just any food, mind you. We’re talking fresh pasta that dries over laundry lines suspended in the kitchen and ginettes (a delicious lemon cookie) made by eye and feel. I’m not sure I will ever take to hanging pasta or eyeballing baking ingredients, but I can certainly follow a recipe. Especially if it’s an Italian recipe that I had to call my dear Grandma Lucrezio’s equally Italian, and now 88 year-old, best friend for.

 

I remember these cookies. Simple but oh so pretty, and they truly remind me of Christmases in Mechanicville, New York at the home of Grandma & Grandpa Lucrezio, where my Uncle also lived, along with my Dad’s Aunt Stella in the upstairs apartment. Gathering around the large table, centered right there in the middle of the kitchen, the smell of red sauce and pumpkin pies still mingling in the air, a large – and I mean, very large – plate of cookies made their way once and then twice and then a third time around the table. A gathering of laughs and conversation; a place where we all legitimately needed to loosen our belts, or at least unbutton that top button, so as to simply sip a cup of hot coffee, or in my case, a tall glass of milk. Amazing how one scrumptious cookie can illuminate memories of years ago… and create a longing to be around that dinner table just one more time. Makes this a recipe worth sharing.

So here’s what you need to begin your traditional Italian endeavor…

The Basics:

2 Mixing Bowls

Mixer

Small saucepan or pot

Cooling Rack

Pizzelle Baker

Pastry Brush

The Ingredients:

6 eggs

1 ½ cps. sugar

1 cp. butter

3 ½ cps. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

2 TBSP vanilla or anise extract

Confectioner’s Sugar (for dusting)

First thing’s first. Plug in your Pizzelle Baker, and no, you cannot bake Pizzelle’s without one. Thankfully it’s a cute, tiny little appliance, and of all the appliances out there that serve a solo function, this one is actually worth owning.

Melt the butter over low heat in your small pot or saucepan and set aside to cool.

In your large mixing bowl – I LOVE my KitchenAid for this – beat your eggs until frothy. Just be sure not to over-whip. Gradually add sugar and mix thoroughly.

Pour in your cooled, melted butter and Tablespoon of extract.

Answering the question of which extract to use…

Well, if you want to stick to a taste that is sure to be a hit with everyone, vanilla is the way to go, although if you are willing to go the way of traditional Italian, you really should take the plunge with anise. Anise extract comes from pulling the essential oils of anise (aniseed), an herb of the Apiaceae family, or star anise, a spice harvested from the fruit of evergreen trees. Although the two plants are unrelated, the tone in both, and therefore the resulting extract, takes on that of licorice. So as you can image, your personal taste buds or of those the Pizzelles are for, will determine which extract you use. Actually, the dear Italian friend who shared this recipe will often use a combination of vanilla and lemon extract, so by all means, experiment!

Now that you’ve decided which extract to use, simply sift your flour and baking powder in a separate bowl, and add slowly to the egg mixture. Your batter should be sticky enough to be dropped by tablespoon, but simultaneously thin. Think somewhere between chocolate chip cookie dough and pancake mix.

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the entire surface of both halves of the Pizzelle baker with butter. You only need to do this once, and when you’re done baking, simply wipe the griddles down with a dry cloth or paper towel.

By heaping tablespoon, drop your batter just above the center of each griddle, mainly because as you press the iron down, the batter will spread forward. Once locked in place, baking should take only 30-40 seconds. Aim for a very light, golden brown, and remove onto cookie sheet to cool.

Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar for that “Christmasy” touch, and you have your as-yummy-as-it-is-pretty Italian delight! If you would really like to have some fun, shape each Pizzelle when warm into a cone for ice cream or in the shape of a bowl to fill with other goodies. Whatever the shape, I can assure you they will be good, and perhaps will create a few Christmas cookie memories of your own.

Buon Natale!

 

The Copy-&-Paste Friendly View:

Pizzelles

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1 ½ cps. sugar

1 cp. butter

3 ½ cps. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

2 TBSP vanilla or anise extract

 

Directions:

1. Heat Pizzelle Baker
2. Melt butter on stove; set aside to cool
3. Beat eggs together in mixing bowl
4. Gradually add sugar
5. Add cool, melted butter and vanilla or anise
6. Sift together flour and baking powder
7. Add dry mixture to egg mixture
8. Drop by heaping tablespoon on each pizzelle griddle
9. Press down baker and hold for 30-40 seconds
10. Remove and lay on cooling rack; sprinkle with powdered sugar

 

Chocolate Variation

1. Add ½ cp. cocoa to flour mixture
2. Increase sugar by ½ cp.
3. Increase baking powder by ½ tsp.