For S'n'B tonight, we have a yarn swap and cookie exchange. Last month I brough a bunch of yarn I didn't want which quickly found an much more loving home so I can't contribute any yarn as I like what I have. But, I can bring cookies. mmmm, cookies.
Part of the cookie exchange is to bring the recipe. As mom's copy of the recipe left much to be desired (i.e. you needed psychic abilities to understand the directions), I took it upon myself to expand the directions for people other than mom to understand and add a Tools Needed section as I didn't want someone to get all excited about making these one evening only to have them look like blobs instead of happy snowflakes because they didn't know they would need a Pizzelle iron.
Pizzelles
Ingredients
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter (melted and cooled)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp anise seed or anise extract
Tools Needed
pizzelle iron
large bowl
small bowl
Italian mother
wire cooling racks
electric hand mixer (optional)
Directions
1. Place the Italian Mother ("IM") where you can see her.
2. Plug in pizzelle iron to heat while you work.
3. In the large bowl beat eggs. If you have an electric mixer place on a high setting or else the IM will tell you that you're nothing beating the eggs enough.
4. Add sugar and continue mixing.
5. Add melted cooled butter. (If the butter is hot you'll cook the eggs. Don't do that.)
6. While doing the above have the IM measure out the 1 1/2 cups of flour into the smaller bowl. Have her add the 1 tsp of baking powder to flour and mix together. (According to the IM, this is obvious as everyone knows that you are to mix baking powder and flour together before adding to the mixture.)
7. Have IM add flour slowly into larger bowl while you continue to mix & try not to choke on the flour dust. Understand why the only other person in your family with asthma was a baker. Continue until all flour/baking powder has been added & mix well.
8. Add vanilla while continuing to mix.
9. Add anise seed or anise extract while continuing to mix.
10. Once the anise is added you should have a smooth mixture. Congratulations! You now have your cookie dough.
11. Take a spoon and scoop a dollop into the dead center of each of the pizzelle mold. Don't move
the dollop around if you dropped it in the wrong place or else you'll be chastised by the IM.
12. Close pizelle iron and let cookies cook for approximately 45 - 60 seconds. (After 20 seconds you can start checking to see if they're done.)
13. Once cookies are a light golden brown, remove gently. (We use a butter knife but you can use whatever you like to grab a corner and transfer to the cooking rack. They're oddly sturdy when you transfer them.)
Once you start making the cookies you can adjust the size and crispiness based on your personal taste. I like them a bit bigger and less crispy but it's a personal preference.
Let the cookies cool for about an hour. (You can start to stack them as soon as they're not completely hot) After the hour, seal them in a Ziploc sort of container to keep the moisture out.
Eat and Enjoy!
My family has been making these for generations. Although
Wikipedia credits the Abruzzo region for these, my family comes from the Campania region (near Salerno) as well as an Albanian settlement somewhere in the Cosenza region. And, according to my grandfather, everyone in Italy made these and crediting one region is silly. He's 92 so he knows these things.
Seriously. I can't make this up. Go to Beard Papa. Have a Cookie Puff. Personally I'd recommend the vanilla filling, but ya know, go with whichever you love.
the dollop around if you dropped it in the wrong place or else you'll be chastised by the IM.
