Italian Pizelle cookies

Italians love to make cookies for all types of occasions, especially at Christmas. Did you know that the Italian word for cookie is biscotti? In America we usually use that word for one type of cookie, which is actually called cantucci. More on that later with a recipe to add. For now, I'd like to give you my favorite holiday cookie recipe, the pizelle. I love this cookie because it's not too sweet and they are thin so you don't feel like you're eating a lot. They are great to dunk in coffee in the mornings, a sweet treat after dinner, and are perfect for any holiday grazing table. They are really easy to make and great to get the kids involved too! Some of my favorite childhood memories at Christmas is making these cookies with my mom growing up. Even as an adults, we like to carry on this tradition and make them together. The good news is, they don't have to be enjoyed only at Christmas (even though that's the tradition.) You can make them for New Year's gatherings, or really any time of the year if you want.

You will need to buy a pizzelle iron for these cookies, which is easy to get on places like Amazon, and they last a long time. I like this one http://bit.ly/4qmT2Vm, but you can even buy ones that make mini cookies as well.

Makes about 30 pizzelles

Ingredients

3 eggs

1/2  tsp anise extract

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-3/4 cup flour (all purpose)

1/2 cup butter melted and cooled

3/4 cup sugar

Instructions

Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooled melted butter, vanilla and anise. Sift flour and baking powder and add to egg mixture. Batter will be stiff enough to be dropped by spoon. Batter can be refrigerated to  be used at a later time, but ready to go once all combined.

*note that if you don’t like the anise flavor, you can substitute vanilla extract. So that would be 1 1/2 tsp total vanilla extract.

Turn on the iron, and wait till it's hot. Then simply drop a spoonful of the batter onto each side and press. Wait about one minute and then lift. Scoop the cookie off and put on a drying rack to cool. Repeat until all batter is done. You have to watch them and make sure they don't get too brown, or that they are not yet cookied and not brown enough.

Buon Natale!