Pizzelle (; : ''pizzella'') are

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

waffle

cookie A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...

s made with flour, eggs, sugar, butter or vegetable oil, and flavoring (usually

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...

anisette Anisette, or Anis, is an anise-flavored liqueur that is consumed in most Mediterranean countries. It is colorless and, because it contains sugar, is sweeter than dry anise flavoured spirits (e.g. absinthe). The most traditional style of anisette ...

, or

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

lemon zest Zest is a food ingredient that is prepared by scraping or cutting from the rind of unwaxed citrus fruits such as lemon, orange, citron, and lime. Zest is used to add flavor to many different types of food. In terms of fruit anatomy, the zes ...

). Pizzelle are also known as ''ferratelle'', ''nevole'' or ''catarrette'' in some parts of

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, as ''ferratelle'' in

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, and as ''ferratelle'', ''cancelle'' or ''pizzelle'' in

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

. Pizzelle are named ''prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali abruzzesi'' (traditional agri-food product of Abruzzo) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests.

History

Pizzelle are known to be one of the oldest cookies and are thought to have originated from the ancient Roman ''crustulum''.Prodottitipici.com
Molise - Dolci e Gelati - Torte e Ciambelle: Ferratelle (Cancelle, Pizzelle)
. Pizzelle were originally made in the ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) of

Ortona Ortona ( Abruzzese: '; ) is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants. In 1943 Ortona was the site of the bloody Battle of Ortona, known as "Western Stalingrad". ...

, in the Abruzzo region of Italy, and spread to nearby regions of Molise and Lazio. Many other cultures have developed a pizzelle-type cookie as part of their culture (for example, the Norwegian ''

krumkake (; meaning 'curved cake'; : ) is a Norwegian cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. A special decorative two-sided iron griddle similar to a waffle iron is traditionally used to bake the thin round cakes, similar to Italian p ...

'').

Production

The cookie dough or batter is put into a

pizzelle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a kitchen utensil used to cook waffles between two hinged metal plates. Both plates have gridded indentations to shape the waffle from the batter or dough placed between them. The plates are heated and the iron ...

, which resembles a small variant of the popular

waffle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a kitchen utensil used to cook waffles between two hinged metal plates. Both plates have gridded indentations to shape the waffle from the batter or dough placed between them. The plates are heated and the iron ...

. Originally, the long-handled pizzelle iron was held by hand over a hot burner on the stovetop, although today most pizzelle are made using electric models and require no stove. Typically, the iron stamps a

snowflake A snowflake is a single ice crystal that is large enough to fall through the Earth's atmosphere as snow.Knight, C.; Knight, N. (1973). Snow crystals. Scientific American, vol. 228, no. 1, pp. 100–107.Hobbs, P.V. 1974. Ice Physics. Oxford: C ...

pattern onto both sides of the thin golden-brown cookie, which has a crisp texture once cooled, although some pizzelle irons feature family crests, special dates, or other decorative designs. Store-bought pizzelle are now commonly available in Italy, and other areas with a large Italian population. It is also common to sandwich two pizzelle with cannoli cream (

ricotta Ricotta () is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein h ...

blended with sugar) or hazelnut spread. Pizzelle, while still warm, can also be rolled into a tubular shape using a wooden

dowel The dowel is a cylindrical shape made of wood, plastic, or metal. In its original manufactured form, a dowel is long and called a ''dowel rod'', which are often cut into shorter ''dowel pins''. Dowels are commonly used as structural reinforceme ...

to create cannoli shells. Pizzelle are popular during

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

and

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

. They are often found at Italian weddings, alongside other traditional pastries such as cannoli and traditional Italian cookies.

History

Production

See also

References

Further reading