Delicate, crisp, and light, these beautiful and tasty Italian Waffle Cookies are known as Pizzelle and are similar to Norwegian Krumkaker. Anise is the most common flavor, however, I'll show you how to make lemon, cardamom, and chocolate pizzelles too!
I've been making pizzelle cookies ever since my friend Diane turned me on to them many years ago. Diane, whose husband is Italian, usually gives them out to friends for Christmas.
This year, I decided to crash Diane and Rick's pizzelle-making party. By the way, "Pizzelle" is pronounced "pitˈzell" in Italian. They are also referred to as "Italian waffle cookies."
Although I own my own iron, I thought it would be more fun to make them with Rick and Diane. After many mishaps, we managed to make some chocolate pizzelle.
It turns out Diane can't talk and follow a recipe. We did manage to have some laughs though. Later, I experimented with a few other flavors on my own.
Jump to:
🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- Pizzelle cookies are really easy and fun to make! Although the first few usually stick to the pizzelle iron, you quickly manage to move on and make perfect ones.
- Most irons come with the same basic recipe. The fun part is experimenting with various spices and extracts to get various flavors.
- Although anise is the traditional flavor, there are other popular flavors like chocolate, almond, and vanilla. For the record, I love the traditional anise flavor, but I'm excited to try some new flavors too!
🧐 What Goes Into This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chocolate Pizzelle — The ingredients listed above are for anise Pizzelle. To make chocolate-flavored Pizzelle, you will also need to add ¼ cup cocoa powder, an additional ¼ cup sugar, and an additional ¼ teaspoon of baking powder.
- Cardamom — Cardamom is not traditionally added so feel free to leave it out.
- Flour — I used regular all-purpose flour in this recipe. I'm not sure if other types of flour can be used.
- Anise — Anise extract is used to make traditional pizzelle. You can experiment with other flavors like vanilla and lemon.
🧇 How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Heat the pizzelle iron while you prepare the batter.
Step 2: Whisk eggs, white sugar, butter, and anise extract in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt until the batter is smooth.
Step 3: When the iron is ready to use, spray with non-tick cooking spray. Place one tablespoon of batter on each of the hot plates, and close the lid. A cookie scoop or melon baller works perfectly for this.
Step 4: Cook until hardly any steam is being produced, usually somewhere between 45 seconds to a minute.
Step 5: Some models have a light that goes from red to green as the Pizzelle cook and back to green a second time, indicating that the cookies are ready.
Step 6: Use a fork or a thin spatula to remove the pizzelles to a wire rack to cool. Continue until the batter is all used up.
Step 7: Cool cookies completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Step 8: Store cookies in your favorite jar or tins for longer storage. This will help to retain their crispy textures.
Pizzelle Recipe Variations
This recipe can be altered to make various flavors. To make cardamom pizzelle, replace the anise extract with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon cardamom.
For lemon pizzelle, replace the anise extract with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and the zest of one lemon.
After playing around with different variations, I've settled on my favorite; cardamom-anise walnut pizzelle. To make them, add 1 teaspoon cardamom powder, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon anise extract, and ⅓ cup ground walnuts.
I hope my Italian ancestors aren't rolling around in their graves with this crazy combination!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
One of the things I love about these cookies is their mild flavor. They are also light and go perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea.
Pizzelles are not overly sweet, and low calorie, so you can enjoy more than one, guilt-free! But perhaps the thing that these Italian cookies are best known for is how crisp they are.
The taste also depends on the flavor you prepare. Some popular flavors include ginger, peppermint, orange, and my personal new favorite, cardamom!
When pizzelle are stored in tins, they last for months when stored like this.
The tins are also great to hand out as gifts for Christmas. So be sure to spread some love around with these delicious cookies.
I had read that pizzelle do not freeze well, however, based on my own experience they freeze great! After they are completely cooled, double bag them in ziplock bags and they should be good for at least 6 months.
👩🏼🍳 Recipe Pro Tips
- Although I'd never considered adding nuts, Diane added chopped pecans to her chocolate batter and it was delicious. However, adding nuts to the mix does make the pizzelle stick to the pizzelle Iron more frequently.
- Pizzelle irons come in various sizes. This includes 3″ and 5". If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased the 5″ pizzelle iron.
- You can use the cookies to make Cannoli shells. To do this, you need to shape them when the pizzelle are warm (they become crisp as they cool off). Cannoli tubes or forms can be used to make the shells.
- Another tool that comes in handy is an ice cream cone mold. The molds are used to make pizzelle ice cream cones. Be sure to purchase the 5" pizzelle iron, instead of the 3" pizzelle iron, which would be too small to make cannoli shells and ice cream cones.
- You can also drape the soft pizzelles over an overturned small bowl. Once they cool off and harden, they make an edible ice-cream bowl.
- Finally, you can use two cookies to make an ice-cream sandwich; Is that a great idea, or what?
🍪 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Authentic Italian Pizzelle Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 medium eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 tablespoon anise extract
- 1¾ cups white flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- non-stick cooking spray
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (for dusting)
Chocolate Pizzelles
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (additional)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder (additional)
Instructions
- Heat the Pizzelle waffle iron, while you prepare the batter.
- Whisk eggs, white sugar, butter, and anise extract in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt until the batter is smooth.
- When the iron is ready to use, spray with non-tick cooking spray. Place one tablespoon of batter on each of the hot plates, and close the lid. A cookie scoop or melon baller works perfectly for this.
- Cook until hardly any steam is being produced, usually somewhere between 45 seconds to a minute.
- Some models have a light that goes from red to green as the Pizzelle cook and back to green a second time, indicating that the Pizzelle are ready.
- Use a fork or a thin spatula to remove the Pizzelle to a wire rack to cool. Continue until the batter is all used up.
- Cool Pizzelle completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Store the Pizzelle in your favorite jar, or tins for longer storage. This will help to retain their crispy textures.
Notes
- Although I'd never considered adding nuts, Diane added chopped pecans to her chocolate batter and it was delicious. However, adding nuts to the mix does make the Pizzelle stick to the Pizzelle Iron more frequently.
- Pizzelle irons come in various sizes. This includes 3″ and 5". If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased the 5″ pizzelle iron.
- You can use Pizzelle to make Cannoli shells. To do this, you need to shape them when the pizzelle are warm (they become crisp as they cool off). Cannoli tubes or forms can be used to make the shells.
- Another tool that comes in handy is an ice cream cone mold. The molds are used to make pizzelle ice cream cones. Be sure to purchase the 5" pizzelle iron, instead of the 3" pizzelle iron, which would be too small to make cannoli shells and ice cream cones.
- Another idea would be to drape the soft pizzelle over an overturned small bowl. Once the pizzelle cool off and harden, they make an edible ice-cream bowl.
- Finally, you can use two pizzelle to make an ice-cream sandwich; Is that a great idea, or what?
Darlene says
I love these recipes
I have a pizzelle maker to
Will have your recipe to
Thanks
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you for the review Darlene, I appreciate it!
Tom says
I am considered the Pizzelle heretic in our house. My wife is Italian (Calabrian and Sicilian). She grew up making Pizzelles with her grandmother using a cast iron mold held over gas flame. I was given a Pizzelle iron by my in-laws and that is when the trouble started (lol). The first transgression was to use both Anise extract and seed. I strayed from Anise and Almond and ventured into Chocolate much to my in-laws horror. My grandmother (German and Welsh) use to send us Black Walnuts and Hickory Nuts that she had processed for Christmas baking. So, I finely ground the Black Walnuts and added them to my Chocolate Pizzelle dough. I like intense flavors so I then added Black Walnut extract. Then I developed recipes using lemon zest, orange zest with rum extract, chocolate with coconut extract, hazelnuts and extract, gingerbread, cardamom, and chocolate espresso. I've now gone to Dark Side and started to experiment with savory flavors but need to reduce sugar and that presents problem with being to soft. Looking forward to hearing anyone's experience with savory flavors (chive, parmesan, everything bagel topping ... As for my in-laws (now in the Great Cucina in heaven) my mother in-law told me I was her favorite son in-law but she only had one daughter. I have become so emboldened as to change the family recipes for sogu and componata. My wife claims that I'm a wanna be Italian. I just tell her I like good food from any culture.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Tom, Thanks for your comment. I love your boldness and your willingness to push the envelope when it comes to cooking. I used to drive my own mom crazy by switching up her recipes so I get what you're saying. It sounds like you've been thinking about some of the same pizzelle flavors as I have (cardamom, lemon, and chocolate-nut). However, I hadn't really thought about taking the savory route. I'd love to hear how that turns out!
Kathy Fisher says
I love these pizzelle cookies. They are one of my favorite. I've only eaten them at Christmastime and I've never made them myself but oh how I love them. Thanks Hilda.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Kathy, I'm so glad you like them. Thanks for the review!
Leone M Belmonte says
Recipe appears authentic. Do you spray the iron each time you are making the pizzelle? My mother was a master of her iron and I struggle to get a whole pizzelle off in one piece Suggestions
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Leone,
It depends on the puzzle iron. Some don't need as much oiling as others. If the pizzelle are sticking, I would definitely oil the iron more often. If you try to remove them too soon, they will stick as well. You want the steam to subside before you attempt to remove them. Good luck!
Emerson says
I’m a bit confused by the recipe for the chocolate ones; should I replace 1/4 C of flour with cocoa powder? or should I just add 1/4 C cocoa to the recipe?
HildaSterner says
Hi Emerson,
Sorry for the confusion. It's all the ingredients in the recipe with the additional 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, sugar, and baking soda.
Danielle says
OMG I love how good those look. Seriously, how did you not eat 18238732 of them. Also, congrats on finding out that you have Italian running through you!!
Danielle | FollowMyGut.com <3
HildaSterner says
Haha, thanks, Danielle! I don't know why I don't make them throughout the year... they're so fun to make, and of course, delicious! Thanks for stopping by and for your comment! ❤️
GiGi Eats says
I've seen these babies before and I always think about how pretty they are - and yours do NOT disappoint either! 🙂
HildaSterner says
Thanks, GiGi, now I have to just stop eating them, so I can still fit into something for Christmas!