{"id":8444,"date":"2026-10-19T23:31:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8444"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:50:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:50:35","slug":"pizzelle","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/pizzelle\/","title":{"rendered":"Pizzelle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The grids and flowers on the baked surface are not patterns drawn on afterward. They are the marks left when a soft batter is pressed between two iron plates, spread out, and baked. Pizzelle are an Italian sweet made by baking a batter of flour, eggs, sugar, fat, and other ingredients in an iron mold. In Abruzzo they are also called ferratelle, neole, or nevole, and similar sweets are found in Molise and Lazio. Depending on the combination of mold and batter, they range from thin wafers that shatter to thick, soft ones.<\/p>\n

Iron molds engraved with family marks, and wedding customs<\/h2>\n

Iron molds in Abruzzo have been engraved with family crests, the owner\u2019s initials, and the year they were made. Such tools, common from the late 18th to the early 19th century, also became part of a bride\u2019s dowry. There was a custom of serving the sweets to people who came to see the dowry, and in parts of Molise they were handed down as a wedding sweet. With molds engraved with family marks, celebratory sweets were baked one at a time, over and over.<\/p>\n

Today they are made year-round and appear at religious events and family celebrations. In Italian American households, they are also popular as Christmas cookies. They are also listed among the traditional foods of the Lazio region, and their names and methods continue beyond the borders of Abruzzo.<\/p>\n

\"Pizzelle<\/p>\n

Pizzelle with a flower pattern. A photo presenting immigrant culture in the United States. Photo: PEO ACWA, 2019-01-31 (from the image\u2019s capture data), location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY 2.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from the source; no additional processing.<\/p>\n

Molds turned over a flame, and electric molds<\/h2>\n

When a small amount of batter is placed in the center of the heated mold and the mold is closed, the batter is pressed from above and below, spreads out, and bakes against the raised and recessed surface. The batter fills the grooves of the mold, leaving grids, diamonds, flowers, and other patterns on the baked surface.<\/p>\n

Traditional iron molds have long handles; they are held over the flame of a hearth or stove and turned over partway through to bake both sides. Electric models are also used today. The thickness and texture vary with the size of the mold, the depth of the grooves, and the amount of batter used. Shapes include not only circles but also squares, fans, hearts, and more.<\/p>\n

Once baked, they are removed from the mold and cooled. Those meant to be thin and crisp are laid out on a rack to let the steam escape and stacked once they have cooled. In some methods, batter that has spilled over the edges is trimmed with scissors, or the wafers are finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.<\/p>\n

In Cese, in the Marsica area, people remember grandmothers reciting an Ave Maria for each side baked to time the baking. Watching the heat as they turned the mold, each household used the length of a familiar prayer as a guide to baking time. In this area\u2019s records, the name ferratelle is also linked to iron cooking tools.<\/p>\n

\"Ferratelle<\/p>\n

Ferratelle from Atessa. The grid pattern of the iron mold remains on each one. Photo: Controllore Fiscale, 2008-09-29, location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ Public domain (rights waived by the photographer)<\/a>. Full size; no additional processing.<\/p>\n

How eggs and fat are used changes softness and aroma<\/h2>\n

There is more than one way to make the batter. In one formula, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla are mixed, then flour and baking powder, followed by melted butter, are added in turn, and the soft, thick batter is dropped onto the hot mold. The result is close to a thin cookie with the flavor of butter and eggs.<\/p>\n

In Abruzzo there is also a method in which the egg whites are whipped first, then the yolks, olive oil, sugar, and lemon zest are added before the flour is folded in. Whether the fat is butter or olive oil, and how the eggs are handled, also create a range of aromas and degrees of softness in the batter.<\/p>\n

For ferratelle in Molise, there is a method that combines flour, eggs, sugar, passito, and anise. Although the iron mold is a shared tool, the ingredients vary by household and place.<\/p>\n

Anise aroma, and versions filled with jam or cream<\/h2>\n

The best-known flavoring is anise, used as seeds or extract. They may also be flavored with lemon zest, vanilla, rum, and the like. Biting into the thin, ridged wafer releases the aroma along with the flavor of the eggs and fat.<\/p>\n

Besides being eaten singly as they are, some are made by sandwiching grape jam, cream, chocolate, honey, or the like between two wafers. Soft ones can also be rolled up, and thin, crisp ones are served with gelato.<\/p>\n

\"Pizzelle<\/p>\n

Pizzelle filled with cream and rolled up, served with orange and almonds. Photo: Hungry Dudes, 2011-04-28, location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ CC BY 2.0<\/a>. Color adjustment and removal of small blemishes were done by the Commons publisher. Reduced-size version from the source; no additional processing for this article.<\/p>\n

Nevole from Ortona and coperchiola from Cese<\/h2>\n

Some nevole from Ortona have mosto cotto added to the batter. They have the flavor of cooked-down grape juice and are rolled into cones. Names sometimes overlap from place to place, but each version has its own characteristic formula and shape.<\/p>\n

Coperchiola from Cese is a sweet in which chopped walnuts and almonds are bound with warm honey and sandwiched in small amounts between two wafers. The name likens the top wafer to a lid, or coperchio. If the same filling alone is spread thinly on a board and cut, it becomes a different Christmas sweet, copeta. Even with the same nuts and honey, the name and shape change depending on whether the filling is sandwiched between wafers baked in an iron mold or set on its own.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Ferratelle<\/strong>: A name for sweets baked by pressing batter between iron plates. The name overlaps with pizzelle and others.<\/p>

Anise<\/strong>: A plant of the carrot family (Apiaceae) with a sweet aroma. Its seeds or extract are used to flavor sweets.<\/p>

Passito<\/strong>: A wine made from dried grapes.<\/p>

Mosto cotto<\/strong>: Cooked-down grape juice.<\/p>

Baking powder<\/strong>: A leavening agent that produces gas in a dough or batter to make it rise.<\/p>

Gelato<\/strong>: An Italian frozen dessert. Here, a food served with the iron-baked sweet.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. King Arthur Baking: Pizzelle<\/a> \u2014 Batter with butter and whole eggs, the mold, cooling on a rack, trimming the edges, anise and other flavorings, Christmas.<\/li>
  2. Abruzzo Marrucino: Le ferratelle abruzzesi<\/a> \u2014 Names, batter with egg whites and olive oil, molds and crisp versus soft types, fillings, the Ortona version, family engravings and wedding culture.<\/li>
  3. Isernia Turismo: Ferratelle, cancelle, pizzelle<\/a> \u2014 The Molise formula, the two forms (crisp and soft), the molds, weddings.<\/li>
  4. ARSIAL: List of traditional food products of Lazio 2025<\/a> \u2014 Printed page 5, Ferratelle at no. 314 in the list. Also recorded as a traditional food in that region. The number indicates the position in the list, not a date.<\/li>

  5. \u30fbCese dei Marsi: Tradizioni e curiosit\u00e0<\/a> \u2014 The name linked to iron tools, the memory of timing the baking with the Ave Maria, the difference in process between coperchiola and copeta.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Pizzelle are a sweet baked in iron molds, made in Abruzzo and other parts of Italy. Fine patterns of flowers or grids stand out on their thin, round surface. A batter of flour, eggs, sugar, fat, and other ingredients is pressed and baked between the two hot plates of a mold. They range from thin and crisp to somewhat soft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7470,"menu_order":215,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Pizzelle","subtitle":"Thin patterned wafers pressed and baked in a hot iron mold","topics":"The mold sets the thickness and pattern\uff0fThe aroma of anise and eggs\uff0fSmall patterns baked for festive seasons","country":"Abruzzo and other regions, Italy","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["butter","egg"],"texture":["crisp"],"occasion":["christmas"],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[151],"class_list":["post-8444","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t