Vanilla Pizzelle Cookie Recipe (2024)

Vanilla Pizzelle Cookies That Go Well With Everything

Pizzelle cookies are a traditional Italian festive cookie used for Christmas, Easter, weddings, and other important festive events. They are easy to make using a stovetop pizzelle maker or an electric pizzelle maker. Pizzelle cookies are like very thin waffles, the kind you’d roll to make a waffle ice cream cone.

You can make pizzelle cookies sweet or savoury. Traditional or whimsical. Flat or rolled. They go well with coffee or ice cream. Make the savoury version and serve with cheese and charcuterie.

Pizzelle cookies are delicate. They don’t travel well. They only stay crisp for a few days so you want to make them no sooner than a day or two before you want them. If you want to make them ahead, store them in the freezer and they will keep indefinitely.

These traditional pizzelle cookies are the ones to use for cannoli or ice cream cones. Rich in vanilla flavour and tender-crisp they are good for filling with a light creamy filling. Or serve them on a cookie tray for a crispy light accompaniment to afternoon coffee.

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Vanilla Pizzelle Cookies

Yield 30 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 2/3 c. organic sugar
• 3 eggs, free-range
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of brown rice flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

Cream together in a medium bowl butter, sugar, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Slice vanilla bean in half, lengthwise. Scrape out the soft inside portion. Add this to your batter. Reserve the remainder of the vanilla for another recipe. Add vanilla extract. Mix well. Mix in rice flour and wheat flour and mix well. Batter with be thick, like cookie dough, not runny.

Oil and preheat your Pizzelle iron. If you are using an electric pizzelle iron to make the cookies, the indicator light will show that the iron is hot. If you are using a stovetop iron, you will know the iron is hot when it steams when open, and a few water droplets sprinkled on the surface fizz and sizzle.

When the Pizzelle iron is hot, drop 1 tablespoon of batter into the center of each circular motif on the inner surface of your iron. (the amount of batter YOU need will depend on the size of your iron plates) Close the iron and wait till the indicator light signals that the wafers are done about 90 seconds. Or until the pizzelle, iron stops steaming, for stovetop versions. The wafers should be golden brown.

Stovetop pizzelle irons will need to be flipped after 1 or 2 minutes to cook both sides of the wafer evenly.

When wafers are golden brown remove from the pizzelle iron and cool in a single layer on a wire rack. They come out of the iron soft and pliable and will crisp up quickly.

If you want to make cannoli, roll the cookies quickly, as soon as you remove them from the iron. Then allow them to cool. Fill with whip cream, or hazelnut filling, just before serving, using a piping bag with a nozzle.

You can also roll the pizzelle cookies with a cone-shaped roller to make waffle cones for ice cream. These vanilla wafers are perfect for making waffle cones and cannoli with a rich cream filling.

Pizzelle cookies are by far my most favourite traditional cookie. Once you’ve invested in your pizzelle iron they are versatile and quick to make for any occasion. They can also be made in large batches and bakes as a family affair. Some families have more than one pizzelle iron going while they bake a batch for the holidays. They can also be made gluten-free for those who have gluten sensitivities or grain allergies. Please use a dedicated pizzelle iron if you have someone in your family with a grain allergy or celiac. Cross-contamination can cause serious harm. See my gluten-free pizzelle cookies recipe here.

Master the art of pizzelle cookie baking

While baking pizzelle cookies is not complicated, using a pizzelle iron can be a little challenging at first. Once you get in tune with the way your iron works you’ll easily create some amazing cookies and crackers that taste better and have a better texture than any that you could buy in the store. Use these to make wafer cookies, ice cream sandwiches, Stroop waffles, vanilla wafers, and other treats you thought you had to buy in a store. When you make them from scratch, you control the ingredients and don’t have to compromise health for good flavour. Don’t wait till next year to master these delectable festive cookies. Enjoy them year-round with my ebook, “A Dozen Sweet & Savory Pizzelle, that are Perfect for Gifts” just $7.97US.

• • Learn to make pizzelles for year-round enjoyment.
  • Recipes for both sweet and savoury pizzelles are included.
  • One savoury gluten-free recipe is included
  • Pizzelles are made with a specialty waffle iron that makes thin, crispy wafer cookies

• Pizzelles are the basis for cream horns, ice cream waffle cones, and other cookies and crackers

Enjoy these pizzelle cookie recipes in one place so you won’t need to search the web to find your favourite.

Get my “A Dozen Sweet & Savory Pizzelle” cookbook with 12 recipes for both sweet and savoury pizzelles now.

Just $7.97, less than the cost of a batch of 30 store-bought pizzelles. Get started on your pizzelle mastery now.

What our readers are saying about “A Dozen Sweet & Savory Pizzelles“

“I remember my Mom making these as I was growing up. I love them, will have to try to make some.” — Midge

“The history of [pizzelles] was very interesting, and the recipes sound delicious. My mom used to make them when I was a kid, but we only had sweet ones. I didn’t know they had savoury recipes!
I am hoping my mom still has her pizzelle maker. I believe it was originally her grandmother’s. If/when I get a pizzelle maker, I would definitely like to try the gingerbread ones, and the savoury parm and chive.” — Tammy