Pizzelles

By Christy Rost

Resembling snowflakes from the kitchen, this recipe for Italian Pizzelles was shared with me by my husband's grandmother years ago, and has become a holiday tradition in our home.

Ingredients:

½		cup soft unsalted butter
½		cup soft margarine
1 ½		cups sugar
6		eggs
2 ½		teaspoons anise extract (or vanilla)
3 ½		cups flour
4		teaspoons baking powder
¾		cup sifted confectioners sugar

Cream butter and margarine with electric mixer, gradually adding sugar, until mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir in anise extract.

In a small bowl, sift flour and baking powder together. Gradually stir flour mixture into creamed mixture to form a very soft dough.

Lightly grease a pizzelle iron; heat according to manufacturer's instructions. Drop a large teaspoonful of dough on each pizzelle design and close lid. Bake cookies approximately 1 minute, or until pizzelles are very light brown in color.

Open pizzelle iron; remove cookies with a fork. Place on paper towels to cool slightly. Replace paper towels periodically as they become damp with steam. Transfer slightly cooled pizzelles to a second set of paper towels. Dust cookies with confectioners sugar while still warm; then transfer to wire racks to dry and cool completely. Continue with remaining cookie dough.

To store cookies, place a small square of parchment or wax paper between each pizzelle and stack in large round coffee cans or cookie tins. Cover tightly and store up to several weeks. Anise flavor develops after 24 hours.

Recipe makes 4 dozen four-inch cookies.