Delicate. Thin. Crispy. Wafer like. This is how I would describe this classic, authentic, Italian cookie: Pizzelle della Nonna. This amazing recipe for pizzelle is an easy, simple, no butter recipe, that can simply be flavored with vanilla, anise. or even chocolate. Includes storage tips on how to keep pizzelle crispy.
According to history, the first pizzelle cookies were made in the region of Abruzzo (geographically located in Central Italy) back in the 8th century. These highly recognizable Italian cookies get their shape by flattening the batter between two hot iron plates (just like waffles). These plates (rectangular or round) often had the pattern of the family crest engraved on them.
Nowadays, the imprint can be a geometric/waffle design, a flower or even a snowflake pattern.
When pizzelle are removed from the iron plate, they are extremely malleable. You literally have a few seconds to drape it over a bowl, or to wrap them around cannoli tubes to get your desired shape (cannoli, bowl, tulip, cone, etc great for custard or ice cream). Alternately, you can lay them flat.
Classic pizzelle recipes will always include these four basic ingredients:
- eggs
- sugar
- flour and
- a fat source.
The quantities and the type of fat used will determine the texture and thickness of the pizzelle; and as for the flavoring, it really is a question of taste. My personal preference is the flavor of my childhood, vanilla.
In my nonna’s Italian dialect, these simple cookies were referred to as “ferratelle”. My dad’s mother was born in Ripabottoni, in the province of Campobasso, in the Italian region of Molise. I have so many fond memories of my mom and my grandmother making these special treats, especially at Christmas.
I can remember eating pizzelle faster than they could make them. Back then, my mom and grandmother would make the “ferratelle” one at a time, with a stove top press with long handles. Imagine the afternoons spent making pizzelle when the basic recipe called for one dozen eggs…a dozen!!!
The cookies were made religiously every two weeks and they were stored in a bread box which was placed in the pantry. No bread in that box – only pizzelle. There were probably near a hundred of them, all stacked up, ready to be eaten as an after school snack or placed on the table when family and friends came over.
HOW TO OBTAIN PIZZELLE THAT STAY CRISPY AKA THE SECRET TO PERFECT PIZZELLES:
After witnessing my grandmother making her authentic Italian pizzelle recipe for decades, here is what I learned:
- as soon as the they come out of the pizzelle maker, lay flat (I use a cooling rack);
- do not stack them as the steam will cause them to lose their crispiness;
- once all the pizzelle are done, allow them to air dry overnight.
I will usually spread them out on the dining room table in small stacks of 3-4 and place a strip of wax paper loosely over the top. The following morning, I store them.
HOW TO STORE PIZZELLE:
If you do not have a bread box, here are other ways you can store these delicate treats to keep them nice and crisp:
- wrapped in aluminum foil, at room temperature;
- placed in cookie or coffee tins;
- paper bags.
Pizzelle stored in this manner will keep well for a few weeks. Whatever you do, do not place them in plastic or airtight containers (like Tupperware) as the will get soft.
Have you ever noticed that with time, the anise flavor intensifies in pizzelle? That’s why they are such a great cookie to start your holiday baking with.
ORIGINS OF THE RECIPE FOR CLASSIC PIZZELLE:
When my grandmother passed away, we found a small notebook which had some recipes written in it. It is remarkable to me that a woman, born in 1908, in a small village, in the middle of nowhere, learned to read and write. This little booklet symbolizes so much more than recipes.
This is truly priceless.
I have scaled down the original recipe, but if required, it can easily be doubled…or quadrupled and stored in your bread box 🙂
Enjoy!
Pizzelle della Nonna
Delicate. Thin. Crispy. Wafer like. This is how I would describe this classic, authentic, Italian cookie: Pizzelle della Nonna. This recipe for pizzelle is an easy, simple, no butter recipe, that can simply be flavored with vanilla or anise. Did you know you can also make chocolate pizzelles?
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon anise extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat pizzelle iron.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until frothy and beginning to thicken (about 3-4 minutes).
- Add sugar. Continue to whisk until well thickened.
- Add the oil and extracts. Mix well together.
- Slowly add the flour mixture until well combined, dough will be soft and sticky.
- Drop 1 tablespoon of batter on hot pizzelle press.
- Close lid and cook 30 - 45 seconds or until slightly golden.
- Remove from press with the help of a fork.
- Transfer to flat surface or mold into desired shape.
Recipe Notes
Special Equipment needed to make this recipe is a iron.
To make chocolate pizzelle use 1 cup all purpose flour sifted with 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I do not use the anise flavor-only vanilla).
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used.
Ciao for now!
Maria 🙂
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2015.12.22 This post has been updated.
Anna says
You are sooo creative, and your pics are great!
Maria says
Thank-you Anna!
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Donna says
Yes you are correct about the oil vs butter. Imo you get a crisper pizelle with oil, butter lovers won’t agree but I think it’s the flavorings that make it anyway, along with the crispness. Thanks for your recipes they are wonderful.
Maria says
My pleasure Donna! I agree with you, it is a question of preferences. Appreciate your comment, thanks for stopping by 🙂 Have a wonderful week-end!
Rebecca Tasler says
The pics of these pizzelles makes them look like they were made with the same iron that my mom used to use. The iron I currently have and that are currently available impress a different pattern. I would love to find an iron that creates the pattern pictured in your post…the pattern that creates spokes around the pizzelle. Do you know what brand of iron was used to make the pizzelles pictured in your post?
Maria says
It is a Vitantonio Pizzelle Chef Model 300 Electric Waffle Cookie Iron Maker. It used to be my mom’s. I am sure you can probably find a used one on e-bay. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
Toni says
I have the exact same pizzelle maker. My aunt gave it to me years ago. Your recipe is also exactly like hers! I’m making these to sort of sway a decision on a house in my favor. Serendipity! Ciao, Maria!
Maria says
Auguri Toni! Hope everything goes according to your plans 🙂 I just love my pizzelle maker… probably because I love pizzelle. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Have a great week 🙂
Toni says
Grazie, Maria!
Jan says
Hi Maria,
My mom was from Frasso Tellisino which is also in the Benevinto region of Italy. It’s like going home to see some of your recipes. Things I never thought I’d see again since my mother’s passing. I’ve been trying (and mostly failing sadly) to duplicate some of her specialties. One being her pizzelles. She always used anise oil for flavoring, but as you said there are many variations. The other difference with the pizzelles she and her sister made was the thickness. Hers were not thin and crispy, they were thick and soft. Your instructions indicate that has to do with the fat portion of the recipe, but you did not elaborate. What would I use instead of the oil to make thick pizzelles?
Thank you!!
Maria says
Hi Jan, I have seen some recipes that use butter. I think the thickness of the final product can also be controlled with the cooking time, and the amount of batter you put in the pizzelle iron. If ever I come across such a recipe I will let you know. Thanks so much for your comment. Have a great day 🙂
Laurie Niessen says
A lady I met a few days ago made them almost see through. They were better than my recipe. More like lace with aniseed essence. She pours like a batter. Her secret. So I would not ask for the recipe. Have you ever tried them.
Maria says
Hi Laurie, no I haven’t. Sounds delicious ♥ Appreciate your comment 🙂
JoAnn says
Pizzelle were a part of my childhood and we had my grandfather’s
Original iron that was used over the open fire or on a gas burner. Nothing touches that!
Your recipe is delicious and I prefer it to those that I have tried with butter. Grazie e Buona Natale!
Maria says
You must have so many wonderful memories… yes, that is so precious ♥ I also have a preference to pizzelle without butter… but then again, I am biased with my grandmother’s recipe… after all, it is the one I grew up with 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Auguri di Buon Natale to you and yours ♥♥♥
Lina farinaro says
Maria,
Just a little note to let you know how much I enjoyed seeing the note pad with Italian recipe written in one of your pictures. Was that your mom s note pad? Regardless, the way the letters are written look like how my mom writes. Adding the note pad in the picture was such a great touch and it moved me more than you can image. Thank you for such a lovely blog. I enjoy reading and looking at all the pictures. Great job. Merry Christmas, lina
Maria says
Thanks Lina ♥♥♥ In fact, the little booklet belonged to my grandmother. A picture really is worth a thousand words and all the emotions that come with it… It is important to keep those stories alive and talk about all the wonderful experiences. There really is so much to celebrate! I appreciate your support, thank you my friend ♥
Kathi says
What a neat recipe and history to find. My mother was born in Abruzzo in 1907. They came to the US when she was 3. She used to make pizzelles and take them everywhere. I have her pizzelles maker and plan to fire it up this Christmas. People seem to love that crispy light wafer. Thank you!!!
Maria says
My pleasure Kathi. I agree, pizzelle are hard to resist. How wonderful that you still have your mom’s pizzelle maker… and how wonderful that you are planning to make some for the holidays. Wishing you and your loved ones all the best during this holiday period. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment 🙂
Franco Farinaccio says
I just wanted to say thank you for this. The recipe and story brought me back to my childhood. My father is also from Campobasso, Molise (Gildone) which is about an hour south of Ripabottoni. Growing up, we had always called pizzelle, “ferrate” and was always corrected by my Sicilian mother and my other Italian friends. It is nice to know that it was dialect and we were right in saying it as we did. Of course, my siblings, cousins and I had trouble with “ferrate” when we were very young, so it quickly got shortened to “frits.” I am still not sure what makes them so special, but they are like potato chips. You can’t eat one and if you are not careful, you may find yourself eating 20 or 30 in a very short period of time. I guess like tutte la cucina Italiana, the beauty is in its simplicity. Grazie ancora.
Maria says
My pleasure Franco 🙂 I agree these “frits” are extremely addictive… probably because they are so thin and light, they just melt in your mouth. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story. Wishing you and your loved ones a Buon Natale 🙂
Cynthia says
Hi Maria,
This is the first time I have commented on any site, but felt compelled to this evening. My grandma Nonnie was also from Ripabottoni. Quite a coincidence. Nonnie was born in 1898, so our grandmothers may actually have known one another!
I’ve never been a fan of licorice and, as a child, was pretty vocal about that fact (as only a spoiled child can be). Bless her heart, Nonnie would make chocolate pitzelle just for me. It was so nice to find your Nonna’s recipe that includes a chocolate option. I have Nonnie’s pitzelle iron, which also appears to be the same design as yours. Another lucky coincidence, and boy do I remember that bread box!
Thank you so much for taking me down memory lane and posting your Nonna’s great pitzelle recipe and sharing some of your touching memories. Thanks to you, I feel like my Nonnie is with me this evening and is probably laughing that I still don’t like licorice. I have many of Nonnie’s recipes and just recently unearthed her Grostoli (yummy). Feel free to email me if you would like to compare notes.
Thank you again, Cynthia
Maria says
Cynthia, thank you so much for sharing your story and your kind words. Grandmothers are truly so so special. One of the reasons I started the blog was to share and document the recipes that I grew up with so that family and friends could continue to enjoy them. Food was truly meant to be shared! In this way, we are also keeping the memories of our loved ones alive every time we make these recipes.
Ripabottoni was not that big a town… I agree that our grandmothers probably knew each other 🙂
I will take you up on your offer and e-mail you Cynthia 🙂 Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts ♥♥♥
Ellie says
Thought I’d leave a real description of how this recipe worked out for me, for anyone looking to make them. First of all, these are way better than previous recipes I have tried. I made one that called for 2 tsp of baking powder, and they were way too thick and puffy! This recipe was much closer to the super-thin, super-crisp vanilla pizzelle I have been seeking (skipped the anise, it’s just not my flavor). It helped to squeeze my pizzelle press closed when cooking to make them extra thin. Mine were about 1.5mm thick at their thinnest parts, and made a good “snap” when broken. My only issue is that the cookies are very dry; somehow they leech all the moisture out of my mouth when I eat them, and I’m not really sure what would fix that. They do go great with a cup of coffee though, or with Nutella smeared on top!
One last tip, I brushed oil on my pizzelle iron between almost every round of cooking. The first time I tried to make them I didn’t oil it and it took ages to chip the burned pizzelle batter out of the tiny patterns in the iron!
Maria says
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a detailed comment Ellie. I also am not a fan of thick and puffy pizzelle. I am curious to know the type of pizzelle iron you have. Also, did you try reducing the total amount of time and not pressing as much? In essence, balancing out this 2 factors might provide you with a “less dry” pizzelle, while still providing that snap. I find that when making pizzelle, even small increments of time (like 5 seconds) will make a big difference in the final outcome. As far as the dough sticking to the press, you got me on that one. Once again, thanks so much for stopping by, appreciate it 🙂
Cynthia Fabrizio says
When it comes to the butter or oil debate, it doesn’t have to be one or the other- use both! I use a little butter for the flavor and a little oil for the crispness. Love these beautiful pictures, reminds me to go make these all seasons. They’re so good along with fresh fruit and cream in the summer or smeared with cannoli filling around Easter.
Maria says
That sounds interesting Cynthia… a wonderful compromise 🙂 Yes, I agree, pizzelle are a wonderful treat throughout the year. Thank you for your kind words… in fact, I am planning to update some of the pictures to include my grandmother’s old pizzelle iron. Appreciate you taking the time to comment 🙂
Amy Howard says
Love this recipe! going to try it today. Could you use another kind of oil like coconut or does it have to be vegetable?
Thanks!
Amy
Maria says
Wonderful Amy, you are going to love these pizzelle! Yes, that would work just fine. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great week-end 🙂
Margaret A. Driscoll says
Buonasera Maria,
I followed your directions to the letter. Pizzelles have that snap mine always lacked. I believe the oil made all the difference. Now for the vanilla flavor…they are resting on the counter under waxed paper so
we’ll try them tomorrow with una tazza di caffè.
Grazie, Peg
Maria says
I am thrilled to hear that this pizzelle recipe provided you with that snap! I truly appreciate you taking the time and sharing your experience with this recipe. Have a wonderful evening 🙂