pizzelle | thebrookcook

Meyer Lemon Pizzelle

I love a crispy pizzelle! I was first introduced to these traditional Italian cookies by a friend who made them every year for our kids’ preschool Christmas celebration. They were so pretty and delicious that I put a pizzelle iron on my holiday wishlist. 🙂 Eating them with ice cream made me understand why my husband loves waffle cones too. This is a wonderful version with subtle lemon flavor.

This special dessert recipe was adapted from a Food 52 community pick, contributed by Hilarybee. I used lemon extract but may try orange next time. I also increased the amount of Meyer lemon zest and added salt.

The original recipe also recommends serving them filled with pastry cream or mousse or sandwiched with a little bit of lemon curd. Yum!

3/4 cup plus 2 T granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature (I place them in a bowl of warm water)
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure orange or pure lemon extract
zest of 2 Meyer lemons
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 tsp coarse salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

Whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Combine the sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until well incorporated. Note: The eggs must be at least room temperature; cold eggs will result in an unworkable batter.
Slowly drizzle the melted butter into the mixture, while mixing on medium speed.
Add the extracts followed by the zest.
On low-speed, add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Alternate between medium and low-speed while beating in the flour. (I turn it to low while pouring in the flour; medium to incorporate the flour before adding more).
The batter should have a satin sheen to it, but should be light and stiff. If your batter is too liquid, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time until the batter is stiff.
Using a tablespoon scoop, place dollops of batter into the iron. The cookies take about 25-30 seconds in the iron.

Note: Fresh, hot cookies can be rolled or shaped into cups. I shaped them into cups by placing a hot cookie on the base of a juice glass and then topped it with an inverted glass prep bowl. The cookies cool very quickly and maintain the shape.

Pizzelles

Pizzelles are wonderful Italian wafer cookies. They are best eaten the day– even within a few hours– after being made, so I usually make them for a crowd. I have also kept the batter in the refrigerator and made them for dessert over several nights- cooked to order. While warm, they can also be molded into cannoli or mini ice cream cone forms. They remind me of snowflakes, so I usually make them in the winter! 🙂 This year, I made them to bring to a friends’ New Year’s Eve party to serve with Pistachio Semifreddo. Pretty and delicious!!

It is tricky to find the perfect amount of dough to use for each cookie, and to get the perfect placement of the dough in the iron, but the edges can be easily trimmed with scissors while the cookie is still warm. I have had success by placing the dough slightly off-center, slightly toward the hinge of the iron before closing. This recipe is adapted from Baking with Julia (Child!), contributed by Nick Malgieri, via PBS Food. I substituted vanilla extract for the anise. It is best to sprinkle the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still warm.

Yield: About 2 Dozen Wafers

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs
pinch of coarse salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure anise extract or 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 T anisette)
3 ounces (6T) unsalted butter melted and cooled
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat the pizzelle iron (I preheat mine set on 4 1/2), and grease or spray it if suggested in the manufacturer’s instructions. (I have a non-stick iron (which doesn’t need to be greased) which is wonderful & less messy!)
Set out a cooling rack for the baked cookies.
Put flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and whisk to blend; set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together eggs and salt until foamy, then gradually whisk in the sugar. (I often use a hand mixer.)
When mixture is smooth, whisk in the extract, followed by the melted butter.
Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the reserved dry ingredients.
Using about 2-3 teaspoons of batter for each pizzelle (I have success using a small (1 T/0.5 oz) cookie scoop), place batter in center of the iron (slightly toward the rear/hinge of the iron), close, and bake about 2 minutes, or until golden and firm. Don’t open the iron until the steam stops.
As soon as the pizzelle is baked, remove from the iron to the cooling rack and continue making pizzelles with remaining batter. Should any of the pizzelles need coaxing to come off the iron, nudge them with a spatula or fork and then peel them off with your fingers.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving (better while warm).

Note: If you want to cut the pizzelle into quarters or roll them into cones (or trim them to perfect their shape), do so the instant they come off the iron, piping hot and still pliable.