Pizzelles are a beloved and versatile cookie. You can make just about any flavor you can image. Traditional flavors  are anise, vanilla, almond and lemon. There is actually a cookie shop back home that makes all different kinds of flavors from margarita to key lime, so if you are turning your nose up to these cookies reconsider a nontraditional  flavor.

As a child, I can remember my Grandma Harper always having these delectable cookies around for the holiday. I recently was able to go through some of her recipes and lucky stumbled across this classic treasure. Her recipe as you can see below calls for anise and also anisette liquor.

 

My husband and I were making these last night, honestly it is a two person task as fast as these have to bake in the press. The pizzelle iron we were graciously able to use had 4 pizzelles molds, which did cut some of the time in half. My grandfather let us borrow his 1986 iron which still was packaged nicely in the orginial box for preservation. A habit I have adopted but never knew, who I inherited that from, but now do and I am thankful for. I must say items not used every day last better kept in boxes and stack easier for storage.

By using my Grandma and Grandpa’s Sears and Roebuck Counter Craft Waffle Baker-International Dessert- Pizzelle Maker, it made me feel like she was with us pressing out the cookies. Even though I do have to mention, this was my first encounter making these cookies, which caused me slight stress trying to perfect them I still felt pleasure in creating them with her recipe & iron.

 

This recipe yields 56 standard size pizzelles

Ingredients:

6 Eggs

1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar

4 tsp baking powder

2 TB vanilla extract or anise

1/2 cup annisette

3 1/2 cups AP flour

1 cup of unsalted butter (grandma used margarine for everything): melted and allow to cool

 

 

Directions:

 

Beat eggs, add sugar gradually. Beat until smooth. Add cooled melted margarine (or butter)and anise. Sift flour and baking powder, add to eggs, mix anisette. Dough will be sticky enough to drop by teaspoon onto hot iron. Follow manufacturers directions. These gems in this device took only 30 to 35 seconds. Don’t use oil substitute per grandma. 

Helpful hint: Now, Grandma’s recipe directions were never elaborate. So I did beat the eggs in a standing mixer with whisk attachment. I sifted the flour with baking powder on parchment paper, which makes it very easy to pour into the mixing bowl without a mess and you don’t have to clean another bowl (hurrah) ! Also, our batter was slightly thick so it took about 1 heaping tablespoon which make our pizzelles thicker. So we will have to thin the batter more next time.

 

Enjoy!