People Pleasin' Pizzelle Pizzaz !

An Old Treat Re-visited
We like to entertain with a diverse fare during the holidays and this year wasn’t any different. I grew up in an Italian-Portugese neighborhood, my heritage is Irish -German and Mrs Twigg is solidly French Canadien so we have quite an eclectic palate when it comes to entertaining. We recently visited some of my out-of-state friends and were treated to some exceedingly delicious pizzelles. (Small, thin round Italian cookies for those who don’t know.) On the way home we decided to get ourselves a pizzelle iron and make some for some of our local friends and family.

Choices
After deliberating over several styles and differing brands we decided on the Chef’s Choice 835 Pizzelle Pro Express. We found ours on Amazon.com for $39.99 with free shipping. This is a counter top electric model and I can heartily recommend this to you ! Having a plug-in pizzelle maker is much more convenient that using an old fashioned stove top pizzelle iron. You get to make three at a time in about the same time it takes to make onw with the stove top iron !

Size Matters
This Pizzelle maker has a relatively small “footprint” at 9" by 10" and just 3 1/4 “high so using this will not crowd your counter. The cord is relatively short but as most kitchens have counter top power outlets this helps to keep the counter clutter down. The cord also wraps around the bottom for easy storage.

Powerful Cooker
At the rear of the pizzelle maker there are two lights, a red “Heat-up” light and a green “Ready” light. You won’t be waiting long for this to warm up because there are 1,000 watts of cooking power evenly spaced on both sides of the non-stick cooker. The cooker will stay hot in between each three pizzelle load so there is no waiting for it to re-heat !

A Nice Spoon
You’ll get three nice “freebies” with this. There is a calibrated spoon so you can drop just the right amount of dough into one of the three molds on the cooking surface. Simply spoon out the dough, one spoonful into each mold then close the lid firmly. In about 45 seconds open the lid and you have Pizzelles !

Adjustable and Non Stick!
If your pizzelles aren’t done enough there is a very handy control over by the ready light which you can adjust to achieve the degree of doneness you prefer. Cooking surfaces are non-stick. If your pizzelles seem to stick try “teasing” them out with a thin wooden spatula. If they still stick, just give the cooking surfaces a spritz of cooking spray and then they should slide right out.

When You're Done
Clean up is a snap. Just wipe the cooking surfaces with a soapy sponge, then with a clean damp sponge and you’re done !

It's Really Just A Stick
Another “freebie” you get with this is a “Canolli Maker”, otherwise known as a wooden dowel. You can also shape the pizzelles into little bowls or cones. Try lightly rolling a pizzelle around the dowel and then fill one of those baker’s “squeezy tube things” with fresh Ricotta and make your own mini Canolli’s - don’t forget to drizzle the ends with shaved chocolate ! There is even a small pamphlet of pizzelle and canolli recipes included.

Mix or Scratch?
There is a great abundance of commercial mixes available if you know where to look, and the dough is not hard to make from scratch either.

Mrs Twigg likes to use this recipe (...and I like to eat them !)

Butter-Pecan Pizzelles
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup toasted pecans, nicely ground
1. Stir together flour and baking powder; set aside. In a small mixer bowl beat eggs until thick and lemon colored. With mixer on medium speed, gradually beat in sugar and brown sugar. Beat in cooled margarine, milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed till combined. Fold in pecans using a spatula.

2. Plug in pizzelle iron and wait for ready light.

3. There is a trick to using this pizzelle iron. Place a slightly rounded tablespoon of batter slightly off-center toward the back of each mold. Close lid, wait 45 to 60 seconds, open lid.

4. Turn wafer out onto cutting board. Trim any excess from edges using a knife while still warm. Place on a paper towel to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.

Yields about 40 unless you insist on sampling ( or have a child / husband present ) as you bake.

Important warning !
If there is a large older man in the house do not brew a fresh pot of coffee while you are baking pizzelles. The combined aromas will attract this man and will have a pronounced effect on the yield of this recipe.

Variations;
For a bit of color try adding rainbow jimmies to the dough. (Sprinkles if you’re not from New England.) Set them out on paper towels and lightly sift with confectioners sugar.

Sometimes it takes a child to show you something new; I found my son making PBJ’s with some pizzelles. Not a bad idea either.

Bake , enjoy, repeat.