A Taste of Italy with the Sweetness of Friendship

La cuccina italiano, per me e la cucinna piu bella del mondo!

My best friend from Canada came to visit this past week. She played soccer with me here at UNL and is now in Physical Therapy school in Edmonton, Alberta. Her name is Selenia Iacchelli and if you can’t tell she is Italian and comes from a long line of expert Italian cooks. She and her family have been spoiling me with the most delicious authentic Italian cuisine for quite some time now, in particular, one special treat remains my favorite. It is called a Pizzelle, and as always she brought a suitcase full of them to share with all of her friends in Nebraska!

My illustration of this incredible Italian cookie doesn’t do justice so I have invited Selenia to share the Iacchelli family secret of this golden brown, decorative cookie that she has become famous for...

The name for these little Italian treats comes from “pizze,” the Italian word for round and flat. Its pronunciation is similar to “pizza,” a famous staple in Italian cuisine, but that is about all these two recipes have in common. Pizzelles are traditional sweet, Italian waffle cookies made from flour, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and are flavored with anise (a black licorice flavored seed, vanilla or lemon zest).

These delicious pizzelle cookies originated from the abruzzo region of south –central Italy. They can be made to be soft, thick and chewy, or thin and crispy. The difference is mainly based on the preparation method and ingredient proportions.

And now its unique design! I tell my friends my mom hand carved each cookie, but this may be a little bit of a lie. Pizzelles are cooked using a pizzelle iron. Just a quick 20-second squeeze in this hot iron does the trick, but a little patience and time is required to make a suitcase-full of them!

The supply of Pizzelles has nearly vanished in a week. I saw this coming and saved a stash for myself. If you are lucky, I might even share one with you. Otherwise, you will have to wait for Selenia’s next visit to taste the amazing Pizzelle. These authentic, homemade Italian cookies are a token of her friendship and love for Nebraska. I guess that makes her Italian, Canadian and an honorary Nebraskan.