The Cultural Dish: A Taste of Tradition: Italian Pizzelle Cookies

Now that the holidays are well under way, it is time to start baking like a mad woman! Although it may seem old and cliche, I ALWAYS bake up a bunch of cookies for friends and family members and give them as part of their gift. Although it would be easier to just buy some cookies or a gift basket at a store, call me old-fashioned, but I prefer the homemade kind!

I typically bake a combination of gingerbread men and women, anisette cookies, raspberry ribbons, orange butter cookies, and more! One type of cookie that I always make sure to include (and my favorite) are Pizzelle! They just melt in your mouth, scream Italian tradition, and of course, they look like snowflakes - very festive!

I have posted this recipe before, and it is one that my grandmother and I used together, but over time, we have come to adapt the recipe, so here it goes! Oh, and if you don't have a Pizzelle maker, I highly recommend that you buy one! They are not expensive and can be quite addicting to play with! You can find one in my store here: http://theculturaldish.blogspot.com/p/products.html

Pizzelle

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
-3/4 cup sugar
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 teaspoons anise extract
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 3/4 cups flour
-Pinch of salt
-Powdered sugar for dusting, optional

Note: If you want to make Chocolate Pizzelle, exclude the anise extract and substitute 1/4 cup of the flour for cocoa powder.

Directions:
Plug in Pizzelle maker and allow to preheat. The light will click off once it is ready.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together. Add in the eggs, anise, and vanilla extracts. Then, sift in the flour and salt.

Once all of the ingredients are fully combined, drop about a teaspoon of batter in the center of the mold (after a couple of tries you can gage about how much batter to drop in because it really does not need much), close the pizzelle oven and allow to cook for about 1 minute. The pizzelle maker I own has a light that clicks off when it is done. If yours does not do this then check them after 45 seconds.

When the pizzelle are done they will be soft. Remove from the pizzelle maker and place on a paper towel. The pizzelle will firm up immediately. Break off any edges from the batter spilling over if needed.

Dust with powdered sugar if you would like, and eat up and enjoy!

For more great holiday cookie recipes, check out these sites below: