Pizzelle recipes and tips

[paulg]

Last month we had three "elders" of the family left. In the month of August all three Aunts passed away.
They all lived long, wonderful lives.
That being said, they all had their special recipes.
Auntie Lee made her special salad.
Auntie Lill had her gingerbread.
However, Auntie Emily made pizzelles. I DON'T have a good recipe or procedure for that.
Of course I can ask her daughter, but I want your input first.
Since everyone comes here for Thanksgiving, we're going to incorporate all three into the dinner as a tribute.
I found a pizzelle iron in the basement.
Can any of you give me some pizzelle recipes and tips?
Thanks much! I'm eager to learn.

 

[xraytech]

Pizzelles are easy to make, buy very very time consuming.
Make sure your iron is hot enough and lightly greased
Your batter should be a bit thicker than pancake batter.
Also dont overfill the iron or you'll have messy edges and alot of runoff.

As for timing each batch it'll take you a few tries to get the right time, you want them to be a light golden color.

Now, for a recipe, everyone in the family has the same Rival Pizzelle Maker and Waffle Baker, we all have always used the recipe that is printed on its handle:

3 eggs beaten
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon anise or lemon flavoring
add ingredients in order listed beating well after each addition

Now for flavoring I have always tweaked it some, as I only use about 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and about 2 Tablespoons, sometimes more of anise as I prefer a stronger anise flavor to them

 

[paulg]

Wow, that was FAST!

Thanks XRAYTECH! I think you broke a record for speed of response!
Much obliged. Now I have something to try. Ten minutes ago I had nothing!
Thanks.

 

[kenmore58]

Paul:

Having been referred to as the "Pizzelle Queen" since the 1980's (I always brought a tray of these cookies to any party I was invited to), I'm happy to share my recipe with you, and also a few techniques I've picked up along the way.

First the recipe:

PIZZELLES

6 eggs
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks margarine (or butter)
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 tablespoon almond.

Beat eggs. Add sugar gradually. Then add cooled melted margarine (or butter). Add vanilla and almond. Then add flour and baking powder.

After all cookies are cooled, dust with powdered sugar.

HINTS: First, before starting the recipe, plug in pizzelle iron. This will make it nice and hot by the time you're ready to use it. Also, melt your margarine or butter in micro first, give it a few minutes to cool and then start your recipe.

When adding the flour, add it slowly to make the consistency of the batter firm but also somewhat pourable.

Usually, the first two cookies cook very fast and dark and are usually discarded. Once the iron burns off some of the excess oil on the plates, the rest are fine.

Spraying PAM or any other cooking spray helps to prevent the cookies from sticking.

As far as time consuming, I find that this recipe, which yields about 5-6 dozen cookies, takes 1 hours from start to finish.

Hope this helps. Let me know how you make out.

 

[kenmore58]

As an aside, another use for pizzelles are shells for canolli's. Immediately after removing the cookie from the iron, roll it into the form of a tube. You have to work quickly and they're hot when you take then off the iron, but they make wonderful canolli shells and they're not fried!

If you need a recipe for canolli filling, let me know.

Ron

 

[xraytech]

Ron,
If you would, may I please have your canoli filling recipe.
I've always wanted to roll my pizzelles but have never had a good filling for them

 

[paulg]

Thank you.

Thanks Kenmore58! The cannoli filling recipe is a fun twist too.

 

[kenmore58]

CANNOLI FILLING

1/2 CUP POWDERED SUGAR

1 LB. RICOTTA CHEESE

1/4 PINT HEAVY CREAM

1/4 TEASPOON CINNAMON

Mix together all ingredients.

 

[joeekaitis]

Root Beer Pizzelles

Add a teaspoon each of anise extract, vanilla extract and almond extract to a 3-egg batch of pizzelle batter. The hint of root beer flavor is most pronounced after they've cooled.

 

[lotsosudz]

Cannoli Filling

Using the same recipe as above, try adding chocolate chips, for something different.
I've also used drained crushed pineapple. You probably only want to use about 1/3 of a cup, or to your taste.
David

 

[maytagbear]

Cannoli filling

for those who can drink alcoholic beverages safely, replace (or add to) some of the cream with Frangelico or Strega, or even Sambuca Romana. Or Limoncello.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[magic_clean]

another Cannoli filling variation

my mom adds chopped bits of candied fruit for a color & flavorful twist.

L.P.

 

[whirlcool]

I've had that in a restaurant somewhere before(Candied fruit version) it is spectacular! I love Cannoli for desert. Problem is in this part of the country it is rather hard to find in restaurants.

 

[rayjay]

Cannoli Filling

Hi Ron. How are you?

Do you have to drain the Ricotta and whip the cream?

Thanks

Ray

 

[joe_in_philly]

I make the exact same recipe as XRAYTECH, and have the same Rival iron, but substitute shortening for the butter, and add both anise seed and anise extract or oil. (Anise oil is harder to find) I find the pizzelles come out crispier with shortening than with butter.

To take out the guess work and avoid having to check doneness, I set up a clock with a sweeping second hand, and after the first couple of batches which are discarded, can easily time them, usually around a minute per batch. I use a cookie scoop to put the batter on the iron. It speeds things up and the cookies come out a consistent size.

Lay them out on a flat surface covered with parchment paper or on a cooling rack as they come out of the iron, and let them cool completely before stacking. I use an assembly line method, scooting the cookies along and stacking them once they are cool.

A 3 egg batch is small. If you are going to the trouble of setting everything up, at least double or triple the recipe!

If you like the thin and crisp pizzelles, be sure to clamp the iron as tight as it goes. My iron, which also makes waffles, has small metal clips in the back that keep the plates close together, and should be secured when making pizzelles. Your iron may have something similar. I associate delicate, thin pizzelles with homemade, unlike the thicker ones often found for sale, which are sturdier and stand up better to handling. The thickness will also depend on your iron.

 

[akronman]

flour

With every pizzelle recipe I've ever used, I switch to SoftAsSilk flour and they turn out wonderfully. Read the directions on the SoftAsSilk flour box for substitutions instead of regular flour, it works smoothly and silky, great pizzelles.

 

[kenmore58]

Wow, Guys, I'm really enjoying this thread. Will definitely have to try some of the suggestions.

Ray: Yes, drain the Ricotta cheese and, no, you don't have to whip the cream first. Just add it to the other ingredients.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Ron

 

[rayjay]

Hi Ron. Nice hearing from you. Hopefully, I will be able to get to MA to see you Chuck, Rich and the others soon.

I am gald that you said to drain the Ricotta.

I tried a recipe oby Mario Batali, and it was too loose and watery.

 

[kenmore58]

Just wondering if anyone's had the chance to try any of the recipes we discussed so far. Curious on the results.

Ron