Guest Post: Pizzelles!

Hi, this is RGM. I asked LBMS if I could do a guest blog about my recent adventures making Italian Pizzelles. 

I don’t know if you know what pizzelles are, but they are these really yummy, very thin, and light cookies. They are made in a pizzelle cooker which is like a waffle iron. As a matter of fact, the two pizzelle makers we have had both had plates that could be swapped to make either waffles or pizzelles.

This is a tradition that I have been doing for a number of years. I make pizzelles and bring them to work for my co-workers around Christmas time. Because of course you can't get enough sweets around Christmas, right?

First here are the ingredients:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1-1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon anise seed or extract

This recipe makes about 2-1/2 dozen pizzelles. Of course, because I needed to make so many I ended up making 4 batches.

Yup, that's 6 sticks of butter and even though the picture only shows 9 eggs, I used a dozen.
So the recipe says to add and beat the ingredients in the order listed. That is what I did. This ends up making a lot of batter.

That is a large mixing bowl, and it is pretty full, especially since you will be using it a rounded teaspoon at a time.
First of all you need to remember to spray your non-stick pizzelle cooker with cooking spray to start. I know it is non-stick, but if you don't you will spend a lot of time picking stuck pieces out of the iron. You only need to spray it once at the beginning.

Now once it is warmed up you need to drop rounded teaspoons of batter into the middle of each side of the iron.

Close the cover and clip it shut and wait for all of 90 seconds or so. The recipe says 30 to 60 seconds or when the steam stops, but I think the cooker I have now is a bit slower than the last one we had.  Anyway, they should be just starting to brown up a little when they are done. This, of course, is just enough time to not allow you to do anything else while you are cooking them.
Once they are done you take them off with a fork and put them on a cooling rack.

When they are cooled you can clean up the edges a little if desired and sprinkle them with powdered sugar. 

Then all you have to do is stack them up...

... package them ...

... and tie them with a bow (thanks, PFM).

So 4 hours later I was finally done. The 4 batches made 11-1/2 dozen pizzelles. Of course there was a bowl of pieces, too (yum).

We found out that our dog, Miss H, loves these pieces.

There you go. Hope you enjoyed my adventures in cooking. Thanks for reading.
Merry Christmas!