Traditional Italian Pizzelles

3 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1/2 tsp. anise (optional)
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar.

Add the cooled butter or margarine, vanilla and anise.

Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the egg mixture. The batter should be stiff enough to be dropped by spoon.

Drop one heaping teaspoon of batter on preheated pizzelle iron grid. Close iron and bake according to manufacturer's directions approximately 30-40 seconds depending on your preference for browning, or the consistency of the batter.

The batter can also be refrigerated to be used later.

RECIPE HINTS
Pizzelles are light and crisp. Serve them plain or dusted with powdered sugar. Also, they can be easily shaped while they are still warm right from the baker and formed into a cone, cylinder or even a cup and then filled with whipped cream, ice cream, or any other filling you like. To keep them crisp, store in an airtight container.

VARIATIONS:

CHOCOLATE PIZZELLES
Add 3 tbsp. cocoa and 3 tbsp. sugar to the traditional Italian pizzelle recipe. If desired, you may substitute chocolate flavoring instead of the vanilla and anise flavorings.

ALMOND PIZZELLES
Omit vanilla and anise flavorings from the traditional Italian pizzelle recipe. Add 1 tbsp. almond extract or 2 tbsp. amaretto. Add one cup of finely chopped or ground almonds to the batter.

SWIRL PIZZELLES
Make one batch of the traditional Italian pizzelle recipe and set it aside. Now make one batch of chocolate pizzelle, adding three drops of red food coloring. Drop 1/2 tsp. of traditional Italian pizzelle batter and 1/2 tsp. of chocolate batter on to the center of each grid pattern before baking.

CAPPUCCINO PIZZELLES
2 tsp. coffee grounds
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. coffee liqueur
Omit the vanilla extract in the traditional Italian pizzelle recipe and substitute these ingredients instead. These special pizzelles are wonderful served with tea with cream and sugar.

PUMPKIN PIZZELLES
6 tbsp. canned pumpkin
1/2 cup flour, in addition to the traditional Italian pizzelle recipe
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Add these ingredients to the traditional Italian pizzelle recipe and you'll have a wonderful autumn treat to serve with warm apple cider.

Source: Villaware

Pizzelle Bakers