Stuffed Pistachio Pizzelles

"Courtney, you are so extra."

I married into an Italian family. Pizzelles are, simply put, a holiday/celebration/snack staple. It's like bread and oil. If I don't have bread and oil within the first 15 minutes of a meal... I get nervous. Likewise, if there are no pizzelles on the cookie table, somethings up, and we should have a family discussion. And while most pizzelles are served flat and crispy, you can get all "bad-n-boujee" and fill them with just a tad more effort. I promise that these little show stoppers are the easiest and most delicious things to make, provided that you own a pizzelle press. It's even easier if you get your cream, eggs, and butter delivered right to your door.  If you happen to live in the PNW, use Smith Brothers Farm products. Quality ingredients make the difference. Shout out to Smith Bros and our milk man, Brandon, for making our busy milk-loving-family-lives much, much easier.

Horn toot-toots: I entered these into a Smith Brothers competition and won. 

Basic Pizzelle Recipe:

Makes 25-30 

• 3 eggs 
• 2 tsp pistachio extract (Feel free to experiment with whatever extract you want. Traditional Italian pizzelles use anise extract or seed)  
• 1 tsp vanilla bean* optional (but boy does it taste amazing)  
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 cup butter, melted 
• 3/4 cup sugar 

Melt your butter and set aside to cool.  Sift flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and pistachio extract, then add the melted butter. Your butter should be lukewarm to avoid scrambled egg pizzelles. Add the flour to the egg mixture and stir. Your batter will be stiff and should be dropped by teaspoonfuls in the center of a preheated press. 

Depending on how "done" you like yours, they'll take 1-2 minutes to brown. I recommend troubleshooting your first batch. You can set a timer, but, most modern presses have a built-in timer, much like a waffle iron. Take the pizzelles out with tongs and place on a cookie rack. 

For a little more spunk, add powdered sugar once they have fully cooled and serve. 

Quick tips: 

• Use spray oil to keep the mixture from sticking. 
• Use an actual teaspoon to drop batter.
• Batter can be refrigerated up to 3 days. 
• You can add food coloring. 
• Be sure to firmly squeeze the press handle for perfectly thin and crisp pizzelles. 
• Store them in an air tight container. 
• If you wish to stuff them, carefully take the hot pizzelles out and roll them IMMEDIATELY into cylinders. I just use my fingers and I have my 10-year-old kitchen assistant hold them in place for a second. The pizzelles will be hot and you must work quickly. You won't be able to shape them if they cool even a little bit. Luckily, they keep their shape within seconds of rolling them. 

Pizzelle Filling: 

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened 

1tsp vanilla extract

1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk 

8oz of Cool Whip or Freshly Whipped Cream 

Whip cream cheese, vanilla, and condensed milk together until smooth. Carefully fold in the Cool Whip or your fresh whipped cream. Add to piping bag (a ziplock bag works too) and fill your pizzelle cylinders. Top with powdered sugar, crushed pistachios, berries... you name it.  Keep them refrigerated until it's time to serve. 

Waistline/allergy friendly recipes? Try these:

Whey Protein Nuggets

Gluten Free Crack Brownies

Pumpkin Muffins with Mascarpone  

Where's the Beef?

My oldest has watched one too many Youtubes on the horrors of our meat farming industry and decided to go vegetarian, cold turkey. No pun intended. Me being me, I'm up for the culinary challenge and will be troubleshooting this lifestyle with her. I did the paleo thing. I can do the Portlandia thing too, right? I also like to pickle things in repurposed Ball jars. I'm one step away from hipster. 

 Let's start off with an easy recipe that you can make a ton of, and, tastes pretty damn good IF you prepare it like this. The Mexican chiles give it this excellent smoky depth and perfect heat. Top it with a enough tortilla chips, cilantro, avocados, cheese, and sour cream and you almost can't tell there's no meat.

Almost.



Recipe. Serves 4-6 

1/2 package veggie crumblers (yes, they make these)
1 dried Ancho chile
2 dried Guajillo chiles
1 tsp Mexican Oregano
2 tsp smoked paprika
3 cloves garlic
1/2 roasted red pepper (from a jar)
2 tsp chili powder
1 can black beans
1 can pinto chili beans
1  lemon
1/2 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 cup frozen yellow corn
Handful of mixed greens
S&P to taste
Olive oil

Soak your chiles in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Place them in a bowl, boil water in the kettle and pour the water over them. Use something heavy to keep the peppers from floating to the top. You want them good and hydrated.

While they are soaking, add oil and sauté the celery, onions, and bayleaf in a pot on medium heat. After a few minutes, when they have softened, add the veggie crumblers, paprika, and chili powder. Turn the temp down to low heat.

In a food processor (my NutriBullet works brilliantly for this) blend the soaked chiles, garlic, oregano and red pepper. If it's too thick, add some water.

Crank your range temp to medium-high heat and add beans, green peppers, greens, corn, water, 1/2 lemon and the blended chiles to the crumblers. Taste it. See if it needs some S&P love. Transfer that to a small crock pot and let it it stew on a low setting for a few hours. When it's time to serve, fish out the bayleaf, add the other half of the lemon juice, and more S&P, if needed.

Try it and let me know what yinz think!

I reckon the crumblers would be good in my marinara, too?