These Italian Pizelle Cookies are crunchy and tender and made in a pizzelle press! They are flavored with anise and vanilla and are a perfect accompaniment to coffee or with an affogato!
Day 1 of the annual 12 Days of Christmas Cookies!
She’s back!!! A triumphant return of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies! This was an ambitious tradition that I started in 2014, continued in 2015 despite working as a full time line cook and then I made it through 7 days of 2016. By Christmas 2016 I was a fledgling pastry chef, understaffed and I was completely overwhelmed. I am no less overwhelmed these days but I have a team of fabulous ladies who are helping me attempt to do it all!
This year I am not only doing 12 days on CLF, but I am also doing 12 days on YouTube!!! Buckle up, because this is going to be EPIC!
I was first introduced to pizelle cookies when Chef Marc left a pizzelle press on my pastry station with a request for a tiny savory ice cream cone. [He also wanted a truffle ice cream, but that is a story for another day.]
When we were recipe testing for the opening menu of Davide, an Italian restaurant in the Meatpacking District of NYC, I tested and retested pizzelle cookies for an elaborate affogato sphere dessert. I fell in love with the delicate, crunchy cookies. Yes, me, Lindsey, the lover of huge, chewy cookies! While Davide fell through, I did get to put these little guys on the menu at Peasant.
Which meant that I got to make hundreds each week. Love was lost. 😆
And then found! Because how lovely are these?!
A few tips for Perfect Pizelle Cookies:
- Let the batter sit for an hour.
- Parchment for protection
- Preheat, spray, repeat!
- Let them cool in a single layer for ultimate crunch.
Pizzelle Cookie Recipe
- Yield: 50, 2 inch cookies 1x
Description
These Italian Pizelle Cookies are crunchy and tender and made in a pizzelle press! They are flavored with anise and vanilla and are a perfect accompaniment to coffee or with an affogato!
Ingredients
- 3 ea Eggs
- 210 g Sugar
- 113 g Butter, melted
- 36 g Milk
- 9 g Vanilla Extract
- ¼ t Anise Extract, more if desired
- 205 g AP Flour
- 7 g Baking Powder
- 2 g Salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl whisk eggs then whisk in sugar followed by milk, butter, and extracts. Fold in the flour mixture.
- Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for an hour. Do not skip this step because the flour needs to hydrate and the gluten needs to relax.
- Cook in pizzelle iron. Be sure to preheat the iron until smoking hot and then give it a spray with nonstick cooking spray after every few rounds, just to be safe. I can tell you from experience that cleaning the groves of an unsprayed iron is unforgettable. Unforgettably awful. Trust.
