Pizzelle

A thin batter pressed flat in a hot patterned iron, a few at a time.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter).

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 150 g caster sugar
• 120 g butter, melted
• 200 g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon aniseed, crushed, or 1 teaspoon anise extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Method

1. Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, then the melted butter, then the flour, baking powder, salt and aniseed. It should be a thick batter, not a dough.
2. Rest it 20 minutes.
3. HEAT THE IRON PROPERLY before the first one, 5 minutes at least. The first pizzella off an under-heated iron always sticks and tears, and it is worth sacrificing one to find out.
4. Put a teaspoon of batter in the centre of each pattern and CLOSE THE IRON FIRMLY. The press is what makes it, not the spreading — the batter is squeezed out to the edges and takes the pattern at the same time.
5. 30 to 45 seconds a pair. They should be pale gold; brown ones taste of burnt sugar.
6. LIFT THEM OFF AND FLATTEN THEM ON A RACK IMMEDIATELY. They are pliable for about ten seconds and rigid after that, so if you want cones or tubes you roll them now or not at all.
7. They keep three weeks in a tin and go soft in a damp kitchen.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes