An easy Pizzelle recipe for the classic Italian cookie, lightly sweetened and flavored with vanilla or anise. All you need are 6 ingredients and 1 pizzelle maker!
I learned about Pizzelle from one of my best childhood friends. Her family made Pizzelle the traditional way, with an iron that had engraved plates and a clamp to hold it together.
Loosely translated, Pizzelle means “small, flat, and round” and that’s exactly what these cookies are.
Table of Contents
Equipment and ingredient notes
Pizzelle iron: Modern versions are just like a waffle maker: a silvery, shiny, beautiful waffle maker that makes cookies. I have this pizzelle iron (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through this link).
Anise: Anise (black licorice) is a common flavor, or you can use vanilla or almond extracts. For lemon, use 1 teaspoon lemon oil instead of lemon extract (lemon extract doesn’t have enough flavor).
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat pizzelle iron and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, butter, anise or vanilla extract, baking powder, and eggs. Drop slightly rounded tablespoons of batter on to pizzelle iron and close.
- Bake as directed by manufacturer or until golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a nonstick spatula, remove each pizzelle to a cooling rack; repeat with remaining batter. Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Rolled: While the pizzelle are still warm from the iron, wrap them around a wooden dowel. You can even fill them with sweetened ricotta for a mock cannoli.
- Bake sale: Pizzelle are ideal for a bake sale or cookie swap because they are rarer than the usual chocolate chip cookies or brownies, and they look so fantastic wrapped in a small plastic treat bag tied with a pretty bow.
More sweet treats
Cookie and Bar Recipes
Mock Italian Cannoli with Pizzelle
Cookie and Bar Recipes
Snickerdoodles
Cookie and Bar Recipes
The Best Brownie Recipe
Cookie and Bar Recipes
Blondies
Pizzelle
Equipment
- Pizzelle iron (see note 1)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup butter melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon anise or vanilla extract (see note 2)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat pizzelle iron and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, butter, anise or vanilla extract, baking powder, and eggs. Drop slightly rounded tablespoons of batter on to pizzelle iron and close.
- Bake as directed by manufacturer or until golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a nonstick spatula, remove each pizzelle to a cooling rack; repeat with remaining batter.
- Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Pizzelle iron: Modern versions are just like a waffle maker: a silvery, shiny, beautiful waffle maker that makes cookies. I have this pizzelle iron (Culinary Hill may earn money if you buy through this link).
- Anise: Anise (black licorice) is a common flavor, or you can use vanilla or almond extracts. For lemon, use 1 teaspoon lemon oil instead of lemon extract (lemon extract doesn’t have enough flavor).
- Rolled: While the pizzelle are still warm from the iron, wrap them around a wooden dowel. You can even fill them with sweetened ricotta for a mock cannoli.
- Bake sale: Pizzelle are ideal for a bake sale or cookie swap because they are rarer than the usual chocolate chip cookies or brownies, and they look so fantastic wrapped in a small plastic treat bag tied with a pretty bow.
Nutrition
Ahhhh! Love these, Meggan! Why have I never heard of pizzelle before?
I love love love that you can keep them as simple cookies or make canoli (& ice cream cones!) with them.
Merry Christmas! :-)
Thanks for posting this recipe.
I have a granddaughter that is allergic to eggs– Is there any way pizzelle could be made without using eggs?? I have a pizzelle iron but have never been able to find an eggless recipe Thank you!
Hi Mary! I have never tried to make egg-less pizzelle. I am certainly willing to try it out and report back to you, but I won’t have access to my pizzelle iron until after the holidays (I’m visiting family right now). But, in this recipe, eggs are being used as a binder more than a leavening agent (in my opinion). So I feel like you could substitute applesauce or bananas to go egg-less the way cake mixes do it. To replace 4 eggs, you’d want to use 2 medium bananas, mashed, or 1 cup of applesauce. Feel free to give it a try if you are adventurous, or I will tackle it in January and let you know! Such a shame to not be able to use your pizzelle maker otherwise!
Thank you so much for your question.
Hi … I was also looking for egg free recipe and I found one using pizza doug (for 1 third cup of dough – add 3 tble sugar and lemon for flavour. What I am not sure of is if the dough needs to rise or use it as soon as it is mixed …
Hi Diane, I cannot say for sure whether you should let the dough rise or not. With regular pizzelle dough you just use it right away. I think trial and error will be your friend here. You could set half of the dough aside and let it rise, and proceed immediately with the other half? Good luck to you, and thank you for stopping by!
These cookies are so pretty. I’ve never heard of a pizelle iron – I’ll probably see them everywhere now. But now I’ll know! All the flavor possibilities with extract sound yummy. Could you do a cocoa version?
Luci’s Morsels – fashion. food. frivolity.
Luci, I have done (and loved!) a chocolate Pizzelle with cocoa powder. So delicious! I will look for my chocolate version and comment again once I find it, it should be something like “use x-cups of cocoa powder in place of y ingredients” or something like that. Or pinterest will have a bazillion options I’m sure! I saw a version on Pinterest that was chocolate and orange, sounds pretty good to me! Thank you so much for stopping by! :)
Lucy I’ve made chocolate ones and honestly I prefer the ones made with anise. You can but a pizelle iron from many places. I would not recommend the teflon coated ones. I love my pizelles.
These pizelles were AMAZING! My kids were fighting over them!
So glad you loved them! :) I can’t wait to make some more for you!
I like pizzelles. I haven’t had any in a very long time. Now I have a recipe I can make my own. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Norma! I hope you enjoy them. I wonder if a cardamom version would be good? :)
I bet these pizelles smell amazing when they’re cooking up. I’m looking into a pizelle iron…thanks for the inspiration and friend invite on FoodBuzz! ;)
They look very cute.. I think if they wouldn’t be made with pizzelle iron they wouldn’t look that good.. :)
My uncle uses a waffle iron to make these, they lack the all important pizzelle iron!
I am definetely going to try this recipe.Got to add the powdered sugar.