When I was a girl, my paternal grandmother would make the most amazing Italian desserts. There were these pieces of fried dough covered in powdered sugar called scrippelles. We would literally drool on the way to her house, knowing those delicious morsels would be there, waiting for us to inhale. I have loved baking since I was very young and really wanted to learn to make our grandmother’s beloved recipes.
I’m using the term “recipes” very loosely here, mind you.
I found that, for the most part, her recipes consisted of “a handful of that” or a “pinch of this”. There were no measurements… it was intuition and a feel for the ingredients that made it work. Things always came out great, but I was pretty sure I was going to need a little more info than handfuls and pinches.
I did manage to get a real recipe for the family’s favorite cookie, Pizzelles. My original copy is written in my little girl handwriting. There may have even been hearts for the dots over the “i’s”. Nonetheless, it’s been the version I’ve gone to for decades now, once the baking was officially passed on to me. The tradition is to have them at Christmas, though once in a while for special occasions I’ll whip out the recipe and make them. My brother has a special love for these cookies, so I’ve been known to make them for him when he visits from Ohio.
I was recently reminded that Christmas is right around the corner. Well, not exactly around the corner… but once September kicks in it takes only one or two blinks of the eyes and it’s December 1st! It got me thinking of my little family’s Annual Christmas Cookie Baking Day… where we literally take an entire day to bake way too many cookies. I’m talking ridiculous amounts. Obviously, we’ve had to alter the choice of cookies drastically. I was perfectly fine to give up many of the different varieties we used to make… except pizzelles.
After all, there are traditions… and there are traditions.
So… here it is. I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I actually like the gluten free version better than the original. Hear me out. My grandmother had this old, heavy, electric pizzelle iron that made perfectly crispy (but not too crispy) cookies. My iron is a modern day non-stick iron that makes fatter, chewy versions. Bleh.
This gluten free recipe makes the crispy ones like my grandmother used to… it’s a pizzelle miracle, I tell you. I may have given up gluten, but I got my grandmother’s pizzelles in exchange!
Not a bad deal. Not bad at all.
Gluten Free Pizzelles
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
3 eggs
½ of a 1 oz bottle anise extract
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup potato starch
¾ cup white rice flour
½ cup sorghum flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 Tbsp baking powder
Handful of anise seeds, slightly crushed
Melt butter and cool slightly. In a stand mixer (or in a bowl with a handheld mixer… or with a wooden spoon!), mix melted butter and sugar together using the paddle attachment. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add anise oil and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, potato starch, rice flour, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and anise seeds.
Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix to fully combine.
Spray pre-heated pizzelle iron very lightly with non-stick spray. Add about a tablespoon of dough to the iron and cook until lightly brown. Remove immediately and let cool on a cooling rack.
Makes 3-4 dozen.
