Meyer Lemon Pizzelle Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Pizzelle are a holiday tradition in my mother's family, who hail from the Abruzzi region of Italy, where pizzelle are traditional confections. Every year, my mom and grandma would stand over multiple irons, scooping the dough and pressing the cookies. Extension cords were necessary, as each woman wielded multiple pizzelle irons. My mom and grandma loved to flavor the cookies either anise or orange.

Today, I proudly own four pizzelle irons and Meyer Lemon is one of my favorite flavors. I decided to sub Meyer Lemon zest in the batter last year and the resultant batch was one of my best ever. Some tweaking of my grandmother's recipe resulted in beautifully crisp, white snowflakes with flecks of gold. For dinner parties, you can form the pizzelle into cups by draping the hot cookie over a drinking glass or ramekin. Fill with pastry cream, curd, or mousse and fresh fruit. Pizzelle make great waffle cones and cups, and are a perfect match for gelato. —Hilarybee

Directions

1. Combine the sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until well incorporated. The eggs must be at least room temperature. Cold eggs will result in an unworkable batter.
2. Slowly drizzle the melted butter into the mixture, while mixing on medium speed. Add the extracts then the zest.
3. On low speed, add the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Alternate between medium and low speed while beating in the flour. (I turn it to low while pouring in the flour; medium to incorporate the flour before adding more).
4. The batter should have a satin sheen to it, but should be light and stiff. If your batter is too liquid, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time until the batter is stiff.
5. Using a tablespoon scoop, place dollops of batter into the iron. Repeat 20-25 more times depending on iron size. The cookies take about 25-30 seconds in the iron. Fresh, hot cookies can be rolled or shaped into cups.

Recipe by: Hilarybee