Recipe: Pizzelle - The Italian Christmas Cookie and Its History

Waffles are something we enjoy almost every Sunday for colazione (breakfast). Lisa has a great recipe which includes egg whites that makes that light and crispy. Lucas' favorite breakfast is waffles with Nutella and banana. But the ancestor of our favorite waffle is something much more delicate... more like a waffle ice cream cone... the pizzelle. (We'll use the name "pizzelle" in this article for both singular and plural--singular is actually pizzella). "Pizze" is from the Italian word for "round" and "flat" (pizze)--yes, just like the word pizza. The "elle" ending means small. Pizzelle are indeed small, flat and round. They are light and crispy Italian waffle cookies made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter or oil, flavored with vanilla, anise, anisette, lemon or even chocolate. Depending on how they are made, pizzelle might be soft or crisp.

Pizzelle are made by cooking batter in between two iron plates that have decorative patterns on them--usually in a sort of snowflake design. There are electric versions that are used just like waffle irons, and there are cast metal ones that you hold over a flame to cook the pizzelle, turning to cook each side. The interesting thing about pizzelle is that when they first come off the iron, they are soft and pliable. You can actually mold them around a tube to form a cylinder used in making cannoli, a cone shape for gelato cones or mold them into bowls or cups to be used as containers for sweet treats and desserts. Once cooled they become hard and brittle.

They can be colored (like the Italian flag, for instance) with food coloring, or dipped into chocolate or icing and sprinkles. The simplest way to serve them is dusted with powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar.  Tuck them into a scoop or two of ice cream in a bowl. Two can be filled (Nutella!) like a little sandwich. Around the holidays, packaged pizzelle can also be found in many varied flavors and designs.

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Jewelled pizzelle from lovely-living.com

7th Century bread stamp

Pizzelle--at least, the Italian version we know today--were originally made in Ortona, in the Abruzzo region. Centuries ago, the families would have pizzelle irons specially made with family crests, special dates, or other celebratory designs. Although once enjoyed at annual festivals, these cookies can now be found at nearly every holiday celebration, in Italy and beyond.

Other countries have their own pizzelle type of cookie, too...  like the Norwegian Krumkake. This is perhaps because it is one of the world's oldest cookies--it's ancestor most likely was the Roman crustulum, a flat bread treat cooked in a Roman pancake pan and on top of a craticula (a sort of Roman BBQ grate cooker). Pizzelle are known as ferratelle in the Lazio region and in Molise they may be called ferratelle or cancelle. 

The history of pizzelle might go back even further in history, however.  There are ancient examples of bread stamps--some being a similar size to modern pizzelle--in both ancient Rome and Greece. Flat breads throughout the Middle East and the Greek and Roman areas of the Mediterranean were often stamped in geometric patterns. Some stamps were small but used in a repeating manner to create a large pattern on the face of a flatbread. The larger ones in the early days of Christianity were used to impress flat breads with a cross or religious pattern, the bread being used as the Holy Eucharist during early masses. St. John Chrysostom (a Greek, 347-407AD), noted in his writings that all bread was “sealed”, most likely with a cross.

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Forming cannoli tubes

Pizzelle Recipes
Pizzelle - made with olive oil
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light olive
3 eggs
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Grated orange zest
1-1/2 tsp Flavoring extract (lemon, rum, almond, vanilla, or anise)
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and olive oil.  Add the eggs, salt, zest, and
extract then beat well. Gradually stir in the flour until the mixture is smooth, soft and sticky.

Heat the pizzelle maker.  Using a spoon, scoop some dough and place the dough on each cookie pattern of the pizzelle maker. It might help to wet your hands and roll a tablespoon sized dollop into a ball and then center it on the pizzelle iron. Close and clamp the lid and cook until about 30 seconds until light golden color. I have found that many pizzelle irons/griddles tend to squeeze too much batter forward (due to the rear hinge design)... compensate by positioning your batter slightly to the rear of center.  Use a thin wooden spatula to remove the pizzelle from the griddle.

Transfer pizzelles onto a cool counter-top or cookie cooling rack to dry and harden. Repeat until all the batter is used up.  If you need to mold them into a shape, do it immediately as they come off the griddle. Do not leave pizzelle out on damp, humid days. After drying, they keep well in Zip-loc bags. 

Pizzelle - with butter
Makes 2-3 dozen. Butter will add flavor but they will be less crisp.

Ingredients
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Cointreau or Triple Sec (or Liquor of your choice)
1-3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar. Add the butter, vanilla,
and Cointreau. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until combined. The batter
should be thick.

Chocolate Pizzelle
(Makes 30 pizzelle)

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder in a small bowl. In a second bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and whisk. Add the cocoa/flour mixture and mix until smooth. Make pizzelle the same way as previous recipes..

Pizzelle with Hazelnuts

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup ground hazelnuts

Directions
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt, then add the butter and blend well. Sift together all the remaining ingredients, except the hazelnuts. Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Next, fold in the ground hazelnuts.   Make pizzelles as previously.

Almond Pizzelle

Follow the recipe for the Butter Pizzelles above.
Leave out the vanilla and Liquor flavorings.
Add 1 tablespoon of almond extract or 2 tablespoons of amaretto.
Add 3/4 cup of ground almonds to the batter.

Cappuccino Pizzelle

Follow the recipe for Pizzelles made with butter.
Omit the vanilla and Cointreau.
Then add:
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream shaved chocolate top top it off.

Black and White Pizzelle

Follow the Butter Pizzelle recipe.
Make one batch of the Chocolate Pizzelle recipe.
Place 1/2 tablespoon of each batter, side to side in the middle of the pizzelle baker's pattern and bake as usual.

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Vintage Holy Eucharist Pizzelle maker

--Jerry Finzi


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