Anise Pizzelle Recipe (Italian Waffle Cookies)

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Celebrate the holiday season (or any occasion) with this classic anise pizzelle recipe. These thin, crisp cookies make the perfect addition to any Christmas or holiday cookie platter. With a pizzelle iron and simple ingredients, you can make these classic Italian cookies at home.

Five anise pizzelle on a wire cooling rack.

Growing up in an Italian family, I had the pleasure of eating pizzelle during the holidays and at family gatherings. Pizzelle are just thin crisp waffle cookies made in a pizzelle iron.

Not all Italians grow up with pizzelle, it just depends on what was traditional to each Italian family. Making anise pizzelle was one of my family's traditions that my grandmother always made and one I have taught my kids and now I am sharing it with you too!

I will show you how to make these crisp Italian cookies along with many tips I learned over the years and answers to many questions I have been asked by those who are new to making pizzelle.

Let's dive into it all!

About The Anise For These Pizzelle

If you are not familiar with anise, it is actually the seed from a plant that originally came from Egypt and was brought to Europe thousands of years ago. It has a black licorice flavor and it is used in sweet recipes and savory ones in many cultures.

Making pizzelle is one way Italians put this ancient plant to use in their cooking and it adds a wonderful earthy flavor to these cookies. For this recipe, anise extract or anise oil is what you need.

Anise oil is stronger than the extract and I will show you the best ratios to use of each in the recipe below.

What You Will Need

Anise pizzelle ingredients including flour, butter, eggs, anise extract, vanilla extract, sugar and salt.

Unsalted butter
All-purpose flour
Anise Extract (or oil)
Granulated sugar
Vanilla extract
Kosher salt
Baking powder
Eggs: I like to use large eggs.

How to Make Anise Pizzelle

Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and anise extract and sugar and mix well.
Add Dry Ingredients: Mix the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Then add this to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Add melted butter: Now add that melted butter and mix until combined.
Preheat the pizzelle iron: according to the manufacturer's instructions

Make the pizzelle: Scoop a tablespoon of dough onto your pizzelle iron and then close it, and cook for about 30 seconds to one minute. While every iron varies you will want to follow your manufacturer's instructions.
Cool: Once the cookies are ready, gently scoop them off with a spatula and place them onto a cooling rack.

Pizzelle Making Tips

Oiling the pizzelle maker: If your pizzelle iron is not non-stick, you will want to oil the pizzelle iron with a little vegetable oil to prevent the pizzelle from sticking.
When the steam slows down check the pizzelle: Instead of guessing how long to cook the pizzelle in the pizzelle iron, I like to look at the steam coming off of the pizzelle iron. When the steam slows down, I start to check to see if the pizzelle are done.
Allow the pizzelle to cool on a cooling rack: The cooling down process is when the pizzelle becomes crisp. make sure to cool them on a wire rack so they cool completely.

Anise pizzelle cooling on a wire cooling rack.

Recipe Faqs

What does pizzelle mean in Italian?

There are lots of ideas about the meaning of pizzelle in Italian. Some people believe it means pizze or small round pizza.

What is the original flavor of pizzelle?

Pizzelle are originally flavored with anise. Over the years, vanilla chocolate and other flavor variations have been made.

Where did pizzelle originally come from?

It is believed that pizzelle came from the Abruzzo region of Italy during the Roman times. They are also known as ferratelle which comes from the tool that originally made them, the lu ferro.

History Of Pizzelle

Old pizzelle waffle iron sitting in a fire place with other old iron cookware from an old Italy home. — *This is a picture I took at Palazzo Davanzati (an old Italian mansion that was owned by the Davizzi family) in Florence, Italy. It is an old pizzelle iron in the fire place.*

I love that Italians have been making this cookie for generations. Pizzelle are actually thought to be one of the oldest cookies in the World originating in Abruzzo, Italy in the 8th century. Although the exact origins of the name are unclear (pizze, pizza etc), we do know that Italians have been enjoying this for a long time.

We also know that these cookies where originally made with pizzelle irons, actual plates of iron with a decorative finish that gets imprinted on the cookies. They would make them in the fireplaces just like the way they cooked their food. Today we have electric pizzelle makers but some families still use their family's iron to keep up with tradition.

Storing Pizzelle

This is one of the most common questions I get from people about making pizzelle. Here are my suggestions:

Storing: To keep these cookies really crisp, it is best to store them in an air-tight container and eat them within 3 days.
Freezing: You can freeze pizzelle. Allow them to cool completely then wrap them in parchment paper then place them in a bag, making sure to get as much of the air out of the bag as possible. Freeze for up to one month. Thaw them by placing them on the counter in the bag and let them come to room temperature.

Variations And Substitutions

Dust with powdered sugar: This step is optional but it tastes amazing and makes for a beautiful presentation.
Go lighter or heavier on the anise: If you love anise, add more to the recipe. If you are not a fan, omit it and use just vanilla extract.
Use other flavored extracts! You can use almond extract, orange and lemon extract or even cinnamon extract to change up the flavor of these cookies. Make this your own.
Use Fiori di Sicilia – This extract has the flavor of orange, vanilla, and jasmine which is amazing with these cookies.
Make vanilla pizzelle!

More Italian Cookies