Italian Cookies: Pizzelle Pitfalls & Leaving Cuccidati to the Pros

A Recipe for Pizzelles and Genevieve's Cheesecakes & Bake Shop to the Rescue!

Grandma, proud of her cookies at my mother’s [2nd] wedding

When my grandmother was alive, she was known by family, friends, and neighbors for her Italian cookies. In particular, she made hundreds around the holidays and even boxed and sold them to folks in the know. She had wanted to start a catering business but as women of her time often were, she was told, no.

Since her passing in 2009, others in the family have taken to making some of the cherished favorites. My mother took on the Cuccidati, an Italian fig cookie classic for Christmas time. I like to cook but am not much of a baker and I understand these to be quite labor intensive. So when my mother announced that she was not feeling up to making them this year, I turned to the pros.

It wouldn’t feel like Christmas to me without Cuccidati, so I promptly placed an order for these beauties above from Genevieve's Cheesecakes & Bake Shop at 5845 Transit Road in East Amherst.

Many years ago, a good friend turned me on to this bakery for their obvious specialty, cheesecake. She, in fact, had never cared for cheesecake until she sampled one from Genevieve's Cheesecakes & Bake Shop. She became their #1 fan and promoter, sending everyone who would listen to this destination for over 30 varieties of cheesecake available in multiple sizes. They are also ready to meet different dietary needs with options for a gluten free crust available for an extra charge on any cheese cake, as well as sugar free/keto options and vegan varieties [in limited flavors]. They also offer a variety of cookies.

The Cuccidati were not the only cookie with a threatened appearance for this year’s holiday gathering. My mother also stated she might skip the pizzelles. Another favorite of mine at holiday times, these Italian wafer cookies do require the use of a pizzelle maker or iron, of which I do not own. I suggested that we could make them together, an offer she accepted.

The recipe for the batter is simple enough but these lovelies are a little more challenging than they look. Factor in a learning curve and a few chef snacks when you first get started if you’ve never made these before. At one point in the process, my mother and I were doubled over in laughter, unable to speak. It’s a memory that will forever come to mind when I eat or make pizzelles.

INGREDIENTS

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

½ cup shortening

1 tablespoon anise extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 large eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grease pizzelle maker/iron lightly with shortening and preheat according to manufacturer’s instructions.

2. While preheating, mix all ingredients in bowl, blending until smooth.

   ***DO NOT, and my mother cannot stress this enough, DO NOT use an electric mixer to blend the batter. According to her, the electric mixer makes the batter too light and fluffy, causing the batter to stick to the iron.

3. Drop a tablespoon of batter into the iron. The amount of batter used for each cookie will depend on the size of your iron. Adjust accordingly. If batter oozes out the sides, use less. If the batter doesn’t create a full cookie, use a little more.

4. Close iron and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions. The cook time may also vary depending on your unit. We found that we wanted to leave the the iron shut for just a few seconds over one minute to get the perfect cookie. Again, adjust as needed.

5. Carefully remove each cookie from iron with fork and move to wire rack to cool. Cookies will firm up once cooled. Dust with powered sugar.

Yield: 15-30 cookies depending on the size iron and how many mistakes you need to eat along the way.

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What is your favorite holiday cookie? If you don’t make them yourself, where do you buy them? Please share in the comments.