Welcome to #ChristmasCookiesWeek! We will be sharing delicious recipes all week long in celebration of the holiday season. Bloggers from across the country have joined forces to share some of their favorite recipes for your cookie trays and dessert tables.
I'm kicking things off with Gingerbread Pizzelles. I grew up eating the traditionally flavored ones but in the last few years I've branched out into some new flavors like lemon and chocolate peppermint. I'm a huge fan of gingerbread so I wanted to give that a try.
One of the hallmarks of gingerbread is the spices so I raided the rack and decided on cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and of course, ground ginger. These get combined with flour, baking powder and salt.
The wet ingredients are brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, melted butter and molasses. Here's a tip: dip the tablespoon into the melted butter and then measure out the molasses, it'll slide right out.
It will be a fairly solid batter, you want to be able to scoop them out of the bowl onto the iron, not pour them. I am definitely a fan of cookie scoops for this but you can also use two spoons.
Make sure to spray the iron well before you drop the batter on. My iron isn't super well seasoned yet so I sprayed every 6 cookies or so to make sure nothing stuck. Let them cook per your iron's instructions and then gently lift them off with a butter knife.
But don't worry, if you do get a sticky one, unplug the iron, let it cool and then remove the cookie parts with a silicon brush.
Another thing not to worry about is if you slightly over shoot the amount of batter. Once the pizzelle are slightly cooled the edges will come right off. Those scraps are great broken up and sprinkled on ice cream!
On my particular iron, I got about 40 4" pizzelles, I shaped some into pizzelle cannoli or, as we like to call them, fauxnoli. I have a large round dowel I use but there are metal forms available as well.
They can be filled with ice cream, whipped cream, lemon curd, or the traditional ricotta mixture. You can dip the ends into chocolate and add sprinkles or chopped nuts. They will soften as they sit so don't fill them too far in advance and keep refrigerated.
You can also mold them over the back of a muffin tin or place them inside ramekins for edible dessert cups. We like to use them for ice cream sundaes or fill them with pudding.
Of course, you can just eat them the traditional way too. They are light and crisp and go perfectly with coffee, tea or cocoa. If you like you can dust a bit of confectioner's sugar over the top.
To store pizzelles and keep them crisp, line a paper bag with paper
towels. Gently place the pizzelle in stacks and then fold the top over
or clip it closed.
I'm so excited to be joining with the other bloggers to bring you an amazing week of Christmas cookie recipes! Be sure to go and check out what they made using the links down below!
Gingerbread Pizzelles
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 room temperature eggs
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons molasses
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 stick butter, melted
- Non stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder, spices and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Beat together eggs and brown sugar. Add molasses, vanilla extract and butter. Mix until well combined.
- Add flour mixture slowly and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Heat iron according to manufacturer's instructions. Coat lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- Using a small scoop or two spoons, place 1 tablespoon batter on each side of the iron. Close and cook per your instructions.
- Gently lift the edge of the pizzelle with a butter knife and move to paper towel lined baking sheets or cooling racks. Repeat with the remaining batter.
It's that wonderful time of year again! Let’s fire up the oven, soften some butter, and whip up trays of delicious cookies for our loved ones, friends, and neighbors. Come join us for a fun-filled week of baking delightful Christmas cookies together!
I don't have a pizzelle maker. I was going to say I wish I had one but what I really wish is that I lived closer to you so I could have one of yours with a cup of coffee and a visit. Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteThat would be fun! I'm actually about to buy a second iron, I want one with the frilly edges this time around.
DeleteI love all of the different ways you can use these! This is a great tutorial too. I wish I had the iron!
ReplyDelete