No Waffling on Pizzelles

It's the holiday season again and y'all know me - that means I'm in the kitchen covered in chocolate, flour and powdered sugar (or as they call it up here, icing sugar). I bake cookies, cakes, breads, candies and even some caramel popcorn for my annual gift baskets.



That said, I've always wanted a pizzelle maker. I have fond memories of my grandmother bringing us light airy anise flavored pizzelles and I adored her as much as her treats. My Nana had one rule on food in her house; eat as much as you like! With 4 siblings in my own home, that wasn't as easy as you might think! So pizzelles and torrone conjure up memories of happy Christmases and a happy belly.

Italian Star Deli recently stocked in some pizzelle irons so I had to give myself an early Christmas gift so that I could make them for my family and friends to help them create some wonderful Christmas memories. This particular recipe is for orange flavored pizzelles filled with an apricot brandy chocolate ganache.



Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted,
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. finely grated orange zest (optionally a few drops of food grade orange oil)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder

Method:

Beat eggs with sugar until thick and light colored. Stir in melted butter, vanilla and orange zest or oil until well combined. Sift together flour and baking powder and fold into batter in 3 batches until smooth. Heat the iron according to manufacturer's instructions and proceed as directed.

Mine has a handy little light that shows you when it's ready:

I used a mini-ice cream style scooper that dishes up about a tablespoon per scoop and put it slightly to the rear of center on each iron mold. It will take you a few to get the hang of how much batter you need, where exactly to place it on the iron and even how quickly you shut the iron makes a difference!

You lift them gently off the iron with a small offset spatula. At this point they are very soft so you could roll them into cannoli shells or even ice cream cones - but you have to work quickly because as soon as they cool, they have the characteristic crunchy light texture they are known for!

Finally, gently (very gently!) spread your filling onto the finished pizzelle, top with another and sprinkle with some confectioner's sugar for that beautiful finished look.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!