This easy Italian Pizzelle Waffle Cookie recipe, made with olive oil, traditionally flavored with anise seed or vanilla, is one my children have loved since they were little.
Pizzelle Irons
Having grown up in a Mediterranean cuisine influenced home, we were close with a very large Italian community in our town.
The first time I saw my friend’s mother making her traditional Pizzelle recipe was with this weird iron, like something you would use at a camp fire, that had a long handle which she held over the fire of her gas stove.
The iron had a design pressed into the metal plates which turned the Pizzelle cookie into what looked like a snowflake looking waffle; flat, round and crunchy.
They fast became my children’s favorite cookie any time of year. Wouldn’t you know it, when my kids grew up, I was given an electric, non-stick Pizzelle iron as a gift for mama to make them Pizzelles, and wow did it make the job go fast and easy!
Best Italian Pizzelle Waffle Cookie Recipe
Where do you suppose the best Pizzelle recipe can be found for a fabulous traditional Italian cookie?
That’s right! Right from a grandma who was born in Italy, speaks very little English, even though she has lived in America for a very long time.
You simply go to her kitchen, watch her cook and write it all down. That is exactly what I did, more than 40-years ago!
Pizzelle Waffle Cones
A beautiful thing about this Pizzelle recipe is that the second the waffle cookie comes out of the Pizzelle iron, it is still soft, for a brief time.
Take the warm soft Pizzelle waffle cookie and quick wrap it around a small cone shape, and you’ve got the best ice cream cone you’ve ever had!
Metal cones, for baking, are a fun tool to have in the kitchen and are very inexpensive but you can also make your own cones out of cardboard and wrap parchment paper around them.
Pizzelle Cannoli
Have you ever had a Cannoli? Oh my, they are scrumptious! Imagine taking an already fabulous Italian style Pizzelle recipe for a waffle cookie, and making it into a Cannoli shell!
Simply lay the soft cookie (the second it comes out of the Pizzelle iron), over a broomstick handle, let is get firm and cylinder (in about a minute), and you have the perfect canola mol!
You need only to fill with sugared mascarpone and tiny chocolate chips! Talk about a Pizzelle recipe on steroids!
Pizzelle Dessert Bowls
I will tease you with one last idea for elevating this easy Italian Pizzelle recipe into a gourmet dessert.
When the Pizzelle is soft out of the Pizzelle iron, quick lay it over an upside-down cup or small bowl.
Let is harden (in minutes). These can be filled with custard, ice cream or whipped cream and berries.
Pizzelle Decadence
While this easy Pizzelle recipe can be turned into so many other yummy desserts, the waffle cookie, all by itself, lends to becoming a dessert cookie you won’t forget.
Throw a little brandy or rum in the Pizzelle recipe instead of the extract. Sprinkle a little cocoa into the dry ingredients and turn these traditional Italian Pizzelle cookies into a big ole chocolate snowflake, then dip those in melted chocolate.
Speaking of snowflakes, the Pizzelle waffle cookie adds such pizzazz to a holiday dessert table simply by dusting them with a little confectionery sugar and make them look like snowflakes!
Ingredients Needed
- Eggs
- Olive oil
- Sugar
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Extract
- Sambucco Liquor
- Chocolate
Equipment Needed
- Pizzelle Iron
- Cooling racks
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Electric mixer
- Mixing bowl
How To Make Italian Pizzelle Waffle Cookies
This Pizzelle recipe is about the easiest cookie recipe you will ever make. Why?
Because the batter comes together fast, is easily spooned into little balls, then squished flat in the hot Pizzelle iron.
They cook in 60 seconds and poof… You’ve suddenly got a couple a dozen gorgeous, traditional Italian, very fancy looking cookies!
Pizzelles are delicious right out of the iron but for a fancy cookie, you can dust with powder, dip in chocolate or even make a glaze of Sambucco and confection sugar for a more intense anise flavor!
Italian Pizzelle Waffle Cookies
Course: Cookies, Dessert, MediterraneanCuisine: Italian24
servingsClassic Italian Cookie made in a Pizzelle iron and often flavored with anise seed or liquor.
Ingredients
Eggs – 3
Olive oil – 1/2 cup
Sugar – 3/4 cup
Flour – 2 cups
Baking powder – 2 teaspoons
Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
Extract – 1 teaspoon, anise or vanilla
Liquor – (optional), In place of extract, Sambuca makes for a delicious anise flavor
Seeds or nuts – 1 tablespoon (optional), anise, poppy, almonds, chestnuts.
Chocolate – 1/4 cup, melted (optional)
Directions
- Get the iron hot
- Mix the wet ingredients first, in a large bowl. Really whisk the olive oil and eggs well. Gently whisk in the dry ingredients.
- Take a heaping tablespoon of batter and roll into little balls, then flatten them slightly before onto the Pizzelle iron. Press down. 60 seconds the are done, so don’t walk away!
- At this point, the Pizzelles can be cooled on a rack or quickly formed into a shape while they are hot off the iron.
- Notes: Pizzelles will last for several weeks in an airtight container, or frozen for months. Unused batter can be frozen, thawed and cooked at another time.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
not to mess up the recipe….olive oil…very interesting. can butter be used instead of olive oil?
Yes! Melted/cooled butter is most commonly used here in America for this recipe. In Italy, it is oil, but both work and taste good! xo