A traditional light, crisp, anise flavored Italian cookie made with an iron. These can also be made with almond, vanilla, or citrus flavors such as lemon or orange. This recipe makes approximately 6 dozen cookies.
1stick (8 Tbsp)butter or margarine, meltedCan also use only butter/margerine. If using only butter/margerine use 2 sticks.
½cupvegetable oilCan also use only oil. If using only oil use 1 cup.
2tspbaking powder
4tspanise extractCan also sub out vanilla, almond, lemon/orange extract, or a combination of these.
4-4½cupsfloursifted
Instructions
Heat up your Pizzelle iron
Beat eggs and sugar
Add melted butter/margarine/oil and anise or other flavorings. Mix well. *Note - you will use 1 cup total of oil/margarine/butter. We prefer 1 stick (½ cup) melted butter and ½ cup vegetable oil.
Sift flour and baking powder into the wet ingredients. Start with 4 cups of flour. Mix well. Your batter should be thicker than cake batter, but not quite as thick as traditional cookie batter. You may need to add the additional ½ cup of flour. Batter should be sticky.
Set up everything you need to start making the pizzelles. You will want your batter bowl, 2 teaspoons (from your flatware, not measuring spoons), a plate to use as a spoon rest, and at least two large cooling racks.
Spray your iron with a bit of nonstick spray or brush with vegetable oil. Depending on your iron, you should not need to do this very often. We do this only for the first batch of two pizzelles.
Using 2 teaspoons, scoop a heaping spoonful of batter onto the iron for each pizzelle.
Close the iron and bake the pizzelles. For our iron, this takes about 20 seconds. We know the pizzelles are done when the steam stops rising from the iron. You will need to test this out for your iron. It will differ for different irons. You don't want the pizzelles to be overcooked/brown. They should look like the photo above.
Working quickly, open the iron when done and take the cookies off with a fork. Place them carefully on a cookie sheet to cool.
Add the batter for the next two pizzelles to the iron. Close the iron and repeat the process. Continue until all cookies are baked.
In order to make room for all the pizzelles to cool on the rack, stack them as they cool.
This recipe makes approximately 6 dozen cookies. Store in ziplocks or sealed containers. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar if you wish.
Notes
Chocolate Almond Pizzelle:Swap out the Anise Extract for Almond Extract if desired.Swap out 1/4 cup of flour for Cocoa Powder, so you will add 3 1/2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder instead of 4 cups of flour. Make them Gluten Free:Feel free to use Gluten Free Flour as a substitute. Our favorite GF flour is "Cup4Cup"!Make them Dairy Free:Use a non dairy product like Earth Balance or margarine.