Pizzelle Cookies - An Italian Christmas Tradition

In December of 2012, I wrote a post about Pizzelle Cookies, how my dad would make them every year, and how I was super excited about my own CucinaPro Pizzelle Maker that I purchased from my cousin Dino earlier that year at Valente's Deli Bakery & Italian Market. I also said that I was excited about starting an annual tradition in my home to continue the pizzelle making each year with my own family.  

Well.  That didn't happen.  But it's OK - I had other areas of my life that required focus!

This year - the tradition started again.  I only made 8 batches and happily shared them with close friends and neighbors as well as a couple of colleagues who live nearby.  My cousin Matt made some pretty cool looking half and half pizzelle cookies a couple of weeks ago - I had high ambition to make that happen, but opted for vanilla instead.  

My dad used to make them every year - lots of them.  My brother, along with many other family members have kept up this tradition that holds strong within my large Italian family.   I followed the recipe my dad always used (less the anise) and made vanilla pizzelle cookies this year.  I'll make the traditional anise ones next year!  

My dad always made them at the kitchen counter with a dish towel draped over his shoulder (or around his neck in this photo!)  I made sure I did the same, there is something about the dish towel over the shoulder that makes the cookies just that much more special :)

Photo Taken By: Scott Leisure

What family baking or cooking traditions do you still follow?  

Traditional Italian Pizzelle Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen - this is a double batch
{If you want to make vanilla pizzelle cookies, omit the anise seed}

2 sticks of margarine, melted or at room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
6 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
dash salt
anise seed (1 tablespoon or to taste)

Combine the sugar into the melted butter in a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring after each one.  You can also combine the ingredients in a stand mixer or food processor.

Using a pizzelle iron, make the cookies according to the manufacturer's directions.  As they are made, let cool on a wire rack, then stack in batches of 12.

Christmas Cookies - The Creativity of Our Children

We are hosting our annual holiday party this weekend.  As a first, we decided this year to have a pre-party party at our home this week.  Our to do list was short, we had some good friends who were unable to attend this weekend - so invited a couple of families over to let the kids play, catch up, and have a few cocktails. 

This was a very impromptu gathering - surprisingly, I never know where we will be in the completion of pre-party tasks a couple of days before the party. The hubby is notorious for coming up with large projects to tackle right before our big event.  We had plenty to drink in the house - I put out some cheese, crackers, fruit, veggies, hummus and ranch dressing - it was perfect! 

I then thought it would be fun to have a cookie decorating station for the kids.  I made a bunch of gingerbread cookies in different shapes, purchased a tub of frosting, sprinkles, and some red hots.   We had 6 total children, 4 boys and 2 girls - all under the age of 7.  They had a great time! 

I told them they could decorate the first one and then eat it, but that I needed all of the other ones decorated for our holiday party dessert table!  The adults all looked at me like I was crazy.  This was great motivation for the kids - they were so creative and we were all super proud of them.  As they continued to lick their fingers and then go back to decorating their cookies, the parents still questioned my decision - I stuck with it. 

I was convinced tonight by the hubby that it would not be the best idea to serve these, but what a fun night for our children!  These are now safely packed away in storage containers and ready to hand out to the hard working children this weekend. 

I used to panic about doing something like this - I'm not a fan of cleaning up messes I didn't make.  But - I have lightened up over the years, this didn't stress me out at all.  In fact, I was so impressed by the girl (OK, there were two but one was a 1 year old and she didn't do much but eat her own cookie) who took her extra sprinkles from her paper towel, folded the paper towel in half, and poured over the finished cookies.   I know she has had WAY more cookie decorating experience than I have - but what a resourceful child!  My little one on the other hand had used so many green sprinkles on just one cookie, you could no longer see it!  Once un-earthed, I suggested that he use those sprinkles to decorate future cookies.  Not surprisingly, one of my girlfriends there said that my little one continued to eat those green sprinkles with his fingers but keeping an eye on me the entire time to see if I would catch him.  I love him.

This year, remember the joy of the season.  Look into a child's eyes to see the wonder.  I have finally stopped what I am doing to do just that this year - and it is a look I hope to never forget.