Traditional Pizzelle Recipe – Laura Vitale
Traditional Pizzelle Recipe
Laura Vitale
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Traditional Pizzelle Recipe
Laura Vitale
Laura Vitale shares her traditional holiday recipe for Pizzelle. It’s a Christmas favorite in our house.
Pizzelle (singular pizzella) are traditional Italian waffle cookies made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter or vegetable oil. They are usually flavored with anise or anisette, vanilla or lemon zest. Pizzelle can be hard and crisp or soft and chewy depending on the ingredients and method of preparation. They can be moulded into various shapes, including in the shape of cannoli.
Traditional Pizzelle Recipe
Laura Vitale
Pizzelle were originally made in Ortona, Abruzzo a region in Southern Italy. The name comes from the Italian word for “round” and “flat” (pizze). This is also the meaning of the word pizza. The Pizzele is known to be one of the oldest cookies dating back to the ancient Roman crustulum.
Pizzelle are known as ferratelle in the Lazio region of Italy and ferratelle or cancelle, in Molise.
The cookie batter is put into a pizzelle iron, which resembles a small variant of the popular waffle iron. The pizzelle iron is held by hand over a hot burner on the stove top. Newer models are electric and require no stove.
Typically, the iron stamps a snowflake pattern onto both sides of the thin golden-brown cookie. It should have a crisp texture once cooled. There are also several brands of ready-made pizzelle available in Italian stores throughout the world .
Traditional Pizzelle Recipe
Laura Vitale
Pizzelle are popular especially during the Christmas season. They are often found at Italian weddings, alongside other traditional pastries such as cannoli and other Italian cookies.
It is also common for two pizzelle to be sandwiched with cannoli cream (ricotta blended with sugar) or hazelnut spread. Pizzelle, while still warm, can also be rolled using a wooden dowel to create unique cannoli shells.
Hope you enjoy this…
Traditional Pizzelle Recipe
Laura Vitale
Buon Natale