What a nice thing to do. Looking forward to lots of stories, pictures, and Lou's famous singing!

Lou, what a gem!

About five or six years ago we made a road trip back east and met up with 10 or 12 "internet friends" along the way. DH (NOT a computer person) was terribly apprehensive about that trip and meeting "strangers". But, after meeting everyone, who were all sooooo awesome, he came home with a different perspective and even years later, still asks me about some of the people we met.

Mmmmmm, anise. Have a good get together. Will you be eating out or cooking?

Yum! Very "sweet" of Lou!

Sounds like you will have a fun meeting!

Take lots of pictures!

Linda

Yup Yup, I'm also a proud recipient of Lou's most delicious pizzelles, biscotti!!!

Aren't they wonderful???????????????

What a great gift. Very nice of you Lou. Have fun meeting up in FL.

The pizelles ARE yummy, aren't they?

Ashley was always kind of amazed and a little dismayed that I drive/drove around meeting forum friends, LOL. She took to calling them my "imaginary friends", then she met Kim and Nancy and just loved them. Sherry and Roger too, and Jessica, of course.

She still tells me to be careful when I'm meeting someone for the first time, though. And she's of the "electronic generation"!

Annie

Mustangs:
I was both shocked and overwhelmed to see my name and your Post.
Thank You:
But you know how Bashfull and Introverted I am.

How can I explain this to all the other women. LOL!

It's a wonder the Pizzelles made it. The last box I sent,
were Pizzelle Chips when they arrived.

Thanks everyone ! I will take pictures.
Lou

You must have done a great job of packing, Lou. They look gorgeous.

Lou, are the recipes for your Biscotti and Pizzelles any you'd be willing to share? ? ? The only Pizzelle recipe I've tried was given to me by a relative, and they seemed pretty "Blah", as in just a flour taste, not much real flavor. Also not tender & crisply delicate as I would expect them to be. Thanks in advance,
Rusty

Ahhhhhh, pizzelle and all kind of goodies. The last time I made pizzelle I burned the top of my right hand. I'm not sure how I did that but I've not attempted to make them again. They look so good I think I'll make some this week.

Lou, Cathy and I spent some time in Sarasota. I know you will have as much fun as I did. Cathy is a real sweetheart.

Cathy, I can't wait to hear all about it.

therustyone:
I put the recipe in over a year ago but everyone said they buy them from Amazon,
because they were just as good and cost the same, so why make them ?
I think I answered , you probably don't make good Pizzelles
and what about tradition,
You know, Making them with the Kids.????? Then they will grow up and so on and so on.
- - - - - - - - - - -

They can be made Plain without Anise Flavor and use Vanilla Flavor,
or add nuts and Cranberries , etc.
I only use Mc Cormicks Flavors
My family likes the Anise .

Here is the Recipe:

Good , Light, Crispy, Delicious, Mouth Watering, To kill for,
Lou's Pizzelles
3-X large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick ) of melted butter ( not hot )
2 tablespoons of oil
1 cup of Sugar + 3 Tablespoons
4 Tea sps. of Anise Extract or 1 Tea sp. Anise Oil
use less ? to taste

1 3/4 cups of flour , add more to thicken
4 level, teaspoons of Baking Powder

Mix well, All the ingredients, except the Flour & Baking powder
Then add them and mix well. If you think the dough is
too soft add a little more flour.
I add until the batter peaks , ( a little stiff ) while mixing ,
and mix with a Tablespoon, to make a soft dough.
I use a Mellon Scoop, with a trigger release, to measure the dough.
I always brush the Pizzelle iron lightly with Pam when hot, before starting to cook them.

When baking the Pizzelles pile them far away from
where you are baking.
Because they are soooo Gooood you will be eating them as you go.
This will make about 40 Pizzelles, unless didn't listen and piled them too close. Then you will have about 3 left and gained 2 lb. Save one for me.
- - - - - - - - - - -

For the Biscotti:
I usually make about 20 to 22 Pizzelles, then add flour and
mix with a Tablespoon,
until I get a Soft Dough, then dump it out on the floured worktop.
Knead in flour until you get a soft dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Roll it out into a log that will fit in a cookie tin 11 x 16.
Flatten the log and taper the sides down. It should be about,3 to 3 1/2 inches wide.
You canuse the whole Pizzelle Recipe and make 2 Strips of Biscotti.

Bake in a 325 deg. oven, 25 to 30 minutes,or until a light golden color.

I cut in half diagnally, to get it out of the pan
easier, on to a worktop.
Then slice imediately into 3/4in.+ pieces ( nickle size )
Let them cool and
place into a tight container.

This sounds like a lot but it takes only 5 minutes or so to make the dough.
Have fun and save me one.
Lou

Hmmm, I can smell them here too. I love pizelles and a biscotti with some good strong coffee for dunking.

Cathy, want me to come and make the coffee? :)

Lou, you are a sweetie to send them.

There wasn't that many to make such a fuss about.
Just a little less to carry on the plane.

The way they throw the luggage around.
Then they would really be Pizzelle Chips.

Think I'll take a Coffee Break and have some Pizzelles.

Lou

Aw Lou, what a sweetheart! Cathy you're so lucky, I'm drooling all over the keyboard!

Peppi, I'll get the coffee maker out of storage! I'll even buy fresh, non-flavored coffee.

Rusty, these are so light it's like eating delicious flavored air.

Karen, Remember, we got a call from Jessy while we were at the Whole Foods Market. She reminded us to send a birthday gift to Annie.

Aw, you all are going to be in my old stomping grounds. I'm from Bradenton/Sarasota! Have fun over there!

I was wondering how they arrived so beautiful myself! Pizzelle are so delicate I would think they'd crumble during shipment! What a nice gesture!

I remember my mother and my aunts making them using these huge, black, cast iron, irons on the stovetop when I was a little kid. It was a project because the long iron handles would get hot as well and they'd have to use towels to wrap the handles with so they wouldn't burn themselves. Then electric pizzelle makers came on the market and it was such a "breeze" to make them!

My sister got me my own machine a couple Christmas's ago so I didn't have to always borrow my mother's. But it makes them smaller in diameter and a touch thicker than the older iron my mother has does. And maybe it's just because I'm used to hers, I like hers better. We both use the same exact recipe, but hers taste better for some reason lol!! I only make them at Christmas time so I associate them with the holiday.

And one of my few memories of my grandmother is going to visit her and going in this white metal cabinet she had in the kitchen (which I rescued from the trash and now have in my basement!) and getting a biscotti out of the jar she kept in there.

Lisa

When are you going to be in town, Cathy?

Lilianne, We are meeting March 19 at Whole Foods, downtown SRQ. Hope you can make it!!

Shoot, Cathy, my going into town day is Friday ;) But I will keep it in mind, would love to see you again :)

Thank you, Lou! ! ! For posting the recipes! I can't wait to try them. Every Biscotti recipe I've ever made in the past has called for baking a second time, after it is sliced on the diagonal, to make them crisp & crunchy for dipping. So I am anxious to try this, too. My 'to try' list is getting wa-a-a-a-a-y too long, and my time to 'play' w-a-a-a-y too short! ! !
Again, THANK YOU! ! !
Rusty

Lisa, that brought back such bittersweet memories. Up until a few months ago I had my grandmothers/mothers pizzelle iron. They sure were heavy and of course only made one cookie at a time. I loved that iron. It was made the year my mother was born, 1924 and had that in the middle of the design, surrounded by diamonds with either wheat or stars in them, on one side. The other side had the blacksmiths initials in the middle with same surrounding. Just this past summer I passed it on to my cousin who wanted it very much and has six children who she can pass it down to since I have no children. Also it being so heavy it's hard for me to use it for very many cookies. The thing I loved most about the old irons are that the crevices are a lot deeper than electric irons so you get a much better [to me], and more substantial cookie. Nice ridges with paper thin dough inbetween. Perfect.

Our family pizzelle recipe is a dough that is thicker than most use and the leftovers are made into the traditional cookie shaped into snails or spirals and were always in my Nonnas cookie jar. Gemelles. We put a thin icing on the cookies with nonpareils, but she always kept some with nothing on top so maybe the adults would have a few left for their coffee. I use anisette liquor instead of flavoring but you can use either.

I can still see my Nonnas house at Easter with the dining room with pizzelles on every surface covered with table cloths/lace waiting for the priest to come and bless them. Naturally we weren't allowed to eat any until they were blessed. LOL..

When I was about ten or so I sat and measured everything my Nonna put in the dough so I could write down the recipe. I may have gotten a few Italian curse words as I kept making her stop so we could measure stuff, but I'm so very glad I did it, otherwise that recipe would be lost to our family. She of course never had a written recipe. She just started with a 5 lb bag of flour, made the well and went from there. Five lbs of flour for cookies made one at a time... no wonder we always had some dough to make cookies with.

I'm really missing my iron about now.

Lilianne;
Change your " going into town day "

Cathy;
Don't you think she should ?

Lisa:
I had one of the old Handmade Pizzelle makers, that you
put on the Gas range.
My Grandfater was a Blacksmith and made them. Maybe he made yours.
The same year and put his Initals in it ( FM )
They are called Pizzelle Bakers now.

If anyone wants to Order one send me an email. I got a good deal on a few of them.
I'll give you the Co. Name.
Lou

If those taste as good as they look, they must taste marvelous! Ignorant me has never heard of Pizzelles. I keep learning new things on this forum. Thanks.

I hope y'all have a great time meeting each other.

Sally

Sally, they are as good as they look.

Attenzione! I was also the happy recipient of Luigi's Pizzelle and Biscotti, his recipes and a few other niceties, a couple of months ago.
The goods disappeared so fast I never did get a chance to take pictures. But Luigi was kind enough to share his recipes with me, so I'll be making both, the pizelle and biscotti. And, next time, there will be pictures.

Btw, I was also the one whose pizelle arrived in pieces. Cleaning up crumbs has never been a more enjoyable task.
Come si dice? Benisimo!

Sol

Sol: Thanks , I couldn't remember who got the pieces.
Don't get old !!!
I don't bother about making them Perfect anyway.
Long as the taste is there.
How did you learn Italian,
You speak it better than this Goy.

Coconut-nj
Sorry I missed you Thread. Sounds familiar.
Lou

Too cool! I know you two will have a blast at whole foods....watch out Lou...I've been shoppin' with Cathy more than once.

David

David : You are not down that a way, are you ?????

Coconut-nj:
I didn't miss your thread, just got it mixed up with Lisa's
Are the Initials " FM " on the Pizzelle Iron.
Lou

Lou, I'm in OK but have had the pleasure of hangin' out and shopping with Cathy a couple of times. I look forward to a full report...a couple of pics would be cool too.

David

Great memories Lisa and Coconut! My memories of my Italian grandmother are precious ones too.

David, The good news for Lou is that there isn't a Mr Tablecloth...and More in Sarasota! I'm sure he will be a trouper like you!!

Lou, nope your Grandfather didn't make ours. Ours was made by a friend of my Pop Pop's who like him, worked on the railroad at some point. Initials were EF and he lived in Trenton.

Yes Cathy, lots of great Nonna memories. A lot of them revolve around her old five foot long agate topped table which now resides in my kitchen. Sure did love seeing that table covered end to end with ravioli and fresh pasta.

coconut-nj :

Did she have a large Macaroni Board that she set on the ,
" Porcelin Top " table and
a Macoroni Stick for rolling the Dough.
She could roll the dough to 1/8 thickness and a 2 foot circle in 2 minutes.
Did you pinch the edges of the Ravioli, with a fork for her
How did I know that ???
Lou

Well Lou, the table actually had a very large board that came with it but for big cooking we just cleared off the whole table and went at it right on the table. Sometimes the board would be used to put some of the ravioli and such on when we ran out of the five feet. Smiles. Oh yes, I sure had fork duty. And I am an expert at rolling the gnocchi with a fork. She had her own method where you would push on the gnocchi sitting on the table with just the right pressure and a deft swish and it would roll perfectly. Yes, the macaroni was rolled with a long dowel one of her sons cut for her.

Just remembered: The board was used if company was coming for polenta, otherwise when her family had it for dinner they just poured the polenta on the middle of the table, covered it with the sauce with the sausage and such and the kids all had spoons. That's a memory of my Mothers.

I was close but no cigar !!! The table had a Board that pulled out but it was small.
Are you sure she didn't have a board about 28 inches square ??? To roll dough.

I still have a new one and the dowel.

The iron Pizzelle Maker is gone. It could have doubled for a Sledge Hammer.
Ah well, the memories are still there.
Lou

Poor Lou. You're funny. The table was five feet long, the board wasn't small, it was big. At least 24' square, but with a table that big who needed to use the board. Those agate top tables are perfect for rolling dough and crust and anything else for that matter.

Coconut:
You're right. You jogged my memory. The board would pull out and go on top of the table.
It was used so the tabletop wouldn't get damaged, from cutting the dough.

When I was younger, everyone had a " Porcelin Top " table.
I did too but it didn't have the board.

Maybe they were called different in your part of Jersey.
Agate is a sort of Glass Stone or remember" a kids marble"
Got to go now.
Lou