Savory Pizzelles (Pizzelle Salate)

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Are you a fan of pizzelles? Those typically sweet waffle cookies, traditionally flavored with anise or other flavors such as lemon? Did you know that they can be savory as well? Today I’m going to share with you a very simple and adaptable recipe for savory pizzelles. I will provide a base recipe with four different flavor variations. You can serve these with cured meats, olives, cheeses and any other salty nibble that captures your fancy. Spritz o’clock just got more interesting! Please read on to hear about these traditional cookies from Abruzzo, with a savory twist. I will also discuss things I learned about pizzelles, and pizzelle irons on our recent trip to Abruzzo.

Gorgeous Abruzzo…

This past summer we visited Abruzzo for the first time. It’s our 17th region out of 20! Wow! To say that we adored it is an understatement. We loved the beauty of the land, the people, and the food!! Oh my goodness do you eat well there! Now, let’s move on to what I learned about pizzelle!

Cultural differences

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my post on pizzelle. I discussed how they are more widespread and popular in the US vs. Italy. Shocking, isn’t it? I’ve seen these sweet cookies all over America, even outside of Italian-American communities. It’s so interesting because, in Italy, I’ve barely seen them. I have many Italian friends here in Bologna from a variety of regions that have never heard of them! Outside of Abruzzo, I think I’ve seen them possibly once. Even in the region, they weren’t as ubiquitous as I was expecting.

It’s another example of what is considered simply “Italian” outside of Italy, whereas in Italy it’s a highly regional specialty. This kind of stuff fascinates me. Pizzelle are also prepared in Molise, Umbria, and in parts of Lazio. When I did see them in Abruzzo, for the most part, they were industrial as in the US. At times though, I found them on offer in restaurants or at bakeries. I tried them as much as I could get my hands on them.

In America, I know many people who prepare them at Christmas time, but in Abruzzo, historically, pizzelle were served at weddings. Nowadays, they are prepared throughout the year for many festive occasions. One of my Instagram followers from Abruzzo says that at Christmas time they sandwich a mixture of chopped almonds, walnuts, and honey in between two cookies. I will be trying this for sure this year! Yummy…

A treat by many names…

One thing I didn’t realize is that pizzelles are called by many different names throughout the region. For instance: ferratelle, neole, cancellate, catarrette, coperchiole, nevole, and nivole. I’m sure there are others! Interestingly, I saw the name ferratelle more frequently than pizzelle. I wonder how the name pizzelle took hold in America? Does anyone know? For those of you outside of the US, are these cookies popular in your area? I’d love to hear from you.

Recipe differences…

On my trip and in my cookbooks, I’ve noted another difference in the cookie itself. There are thick (like a waffle) and thin versions. In the US, they are usually thin and crisp and flavored with either anise, lemon, chocolate or vanilla. They usually contain butter or margarine. In Abruzzo, the recipes we saw contained extra virgin olive oil vs. butter. (There are some that use a neutral oil, such as sunflower.) Another surprising ingredient in some traditional recipes is white wine. It’s so fascinating how it changed in the US and took on a life of its own. In America, the pizzelles are sweeter too and stand up on their own as cookies. In Abruzzo, I saw them more as a vehicle for jam, pastry cream or Nutella.

Some Notes on Pizzelle Irons

In order to prepare either savory pizzelles or sweet ones, you need a tool called a pizzelle iron. A pizzelle iron is either electric or stovetop. I have the old-fashioned stovetop variety. It’s likely that most of you that have one probably have electric ones. If however, you luckily find yourselves in Abruzzo and get captivated by the stovetop ones, I wanted to give you a word of warning. Most of these irons are made in Italy, but some are made elsewhere. I learned the hard way that the quality difference is noticeable. I suggest that you get the irons made in Italy.

Beautiful Sulmona

On our trip, we visited a town called Sulmona. I calculated which day we went so that we could be there for the market day. Being who I am, I couldn’t resist buying two of the stovetop irons because they were so pretty and incredibly cheap. Although I had one at home already, these were larger and had different designs. I wanted to bring one with me to the US so that I could make pizzelles for my family when I visited.

I didn’t find out until later than one of the ones that I bought (the cheaper one that didn’t end up being a deal at all…) was made in China vs. Abruzzo. Unfortunately, although it had such a pretty design, it wasn’t good quality. It was lighter in weight and had many edges that I could cut myself on. Also, the hinges didn’t stay together. I opened and closed it only a couple of times and it almost came entirely unhinged. If this tool had been hot on the flame, it could have been very dangerous. Please take a look at my pictures to see the difference in thicknesses and quality. I had to throw the bad one out. Waah.

Pizzelle irons in the US

If you are interested in buying an iron, I recommend the kitchen shop Fantes based in Philadelphia. They have an excellent selection and have information about how to care for them. If you are going to visit Italy, the company CBE Elettrodomestici makes pizzelle irons and this is the brand that I have. I paid about €18 euros for my large iron. In the States, this one costs about $50. Get one here if you come! I wrote an article on kitchenware stores in Bologna here, if you intend to visit. Of course, Amazon also has a large selection as well. Keep in mind that with the irons you can make sweet and savory pizzelles, plus your own ice cream cones. While the pizzelles are hot you can mold them like cannoli and fill them.

How to maintain your stovetop iron

One note on maintenance. I was told at the market to never wash these with soap and water, otherwise, the cookies will stick. Being a bit of a germ freak, this doesn’t sit well with me. However, they are right. The first one of these that I ever bought years ago, stuck like crazy the first time I used it because I had washed it… All you need to do is wash the outside and wipe the whole iron with a damp cloth. To get rid of any factory debris, simply throw out the first few cookies. With all of my testing this week, not one pizzelle stuck.

Savory Pizzelles… Pizzelle Salate

Now to the savory pizzelles! While in Abruzzo we visited many little towns and came across some modern and savory interpretations of pizzelle at a lovely shop. We bought a package of some seasoned with anchovy. They were glorious. When I returned to our B&B and I spoke to our hostess about them and she said that she made savory ones herself. She graciously shared her recipe with me. Score! Christel’s beautiful B&B is called Sotto le Volte in a very small village called Navelli. I recommend the area and this B&B. Christel, our hostess was amazing and was so kind to share her recipe with me. Thank you Christel!

As with many Italian recipes, there weren’t exact amounts for all of the ingredients, so I tested and re-tested these many times with different amounts of flour, different kinds of flour, and different seasonings. Below, you will find a basic plain savory pizzelle, with amounts for other varieties with peperoncino, fennel seeds, pizzaiolo (with tomato & oregano), and anchovy. They are all delicious. Once you get comfortable with the seasoning amounts, feel free to create your own variations and let me know what you come up with!

Notes on the recipe

The batter for this recipe comes together in minutes. The base recipe has 4 ingredients only. I recommend using a scale and using grams and milliliters for better and more accurate results. When I tried to convert this to ounces and volume measures, it didn’t work. I ended up with odd measurements and it just complicated things unnecessarily. I’ve provided a base flour amount but you might need to add more as necessary to get them to lightly brown and be crisp. I used 3 different kinds of flour as I tested these – 00 flour, stoneground mixed variety flour, and whole wheat stone ground flour. They all had slightly different amounts of flour required. If you have access to a local mill with stoneground flour, I recommend using it because these flours have so much more flavor and nutrients.

When preparing these, test 1-2 cookies first to see if you like the crispness level. The more flour you add, the crisper they will be but if you add too much, the lovely flavor of the olive oil will diminish. These are best eaten the day they are made. However, you can crisp them in the oven the next day very briefly. Be sure not to dry them out.

Serving ideas

If you are interested in other appetizer recipes, try my Artichoke Crostini or my Calabrian Stuffed Eggplants. They would be a nice addition to your appetizer spread! While testing this recipe, I served these with mortadella, pecorino, prosciutto, and mozzarella. The anchovy pizzelle especially would be good with burrata or mozzarella. You can sandwich any of these things in between two pizzelles and be very happy. Spreadable cheese would also be lovely on top of any of these varieties. Happy cooking everyone! Enjoy the recipe!

Savory Pizzelles/Pizzelle Salate

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Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 3.6/5

( 7 voted )

Ingredients

• Plain Pizzelles:
• 200 ml dry white wine or Rosato wine
• 80 grams extra virgin olive oil
• 220 grams unbleached all-purpose flour, or other flour of choice, adding more if needed
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Flavored Pizzelles:
• Peperoncino Pizzelles: Add 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Fennel Pizzelles: Add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• Pizzaiolo Pizzelles: Add 2 teaspoons tomato paste and 1 teaspoon good quality dried oregano
• Anchovy Pizzelles: Add 4 finely chopped anchovies, reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon

Instructions

1. Preheat your pizzelle iron. If using a stovetop iron, sprinkle with water on the outside to determine if it's hot enough. If the water sizzles and evaporates, it's ready. Very lightly oil your pizzelle iron with olive oil. You should only have to do this once at the beginning.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the batter by whisking the liquid ingredients first with the salt and any other seasoning you choose to add. Mix in the flour slowly and delicately. Don't stir too vigorously or they will be tough. If desired, let the batter rest a bit to make sure they are tender.
3. Do a test pizzelle to see how much dough to add to your maker and to calculate timing if your maker doesn't have a built-in timer. Proceed with the rest of the batter and cook each pizzelle until crisp and lightly browned. Place each pizzelle on a cookie rack as you take them off the heat. Continue until you use up your batter. Serve as soon as possible.

Notes

I have 2 pizzelle irons of different sizes. The larger iron is 18.5 cm/7.25-inches. This recipe yielded 6 of them, that can be divided into 24 quarters. The smaller iron is 13 cm/5-inches. This recipe yielded about 22-24 pizzelle.