Enjoy sugar and spice this holiday season by making a batch of gingerbread pizzelle. This crisp and tender holiday pizzelle variation delivers the cozy warmth we love from gingerbread, just in an easier form. A special and unique addition to Christmas cookie trays, these spiced pizzelle are a great make-ahead option and stay crisp for weeks!
Anise-kissed Italian pizzelle are welcome year-round, but if you really want to pep things up for the holiday season, consider putting gingerbread pizzelle on your Christmas cookie list, too.
In the 12 years of this blog I'm totally dancing around the topic of traditional cut-out gingerbread cookies. Love to eat them, but the rolling, cutting, and neatly decorating can be a little fussy. Fuss is my nemesis in the kitchen.
Instead let's keep thing easy: if you're in the mood for cake, go for old-fashioned gingerbread (you don't even need a sauce it's so tender and moist). If your cookie press is itching to be used I'd go with gingerbread spritz cookies, and if it's your pizzelle press instead? This recipe right here.
These gingerbread pizzelle feature the classic crispness we want from pizzelle with the warm, spiced, and slightly-caramelized flavors of gingerbread. Dark brown sugar and molasses turn the batter a deeper brown than normal so some might think at first glance that you've left this batch of pizzelle on the press too long, but I promise one bite will set them straight.
Testing Notes
I tweaked my traditional recipe in making these Christmas pizzelle. The core base is there - same amounts of eggs, flour, liquid fat, and baking powder - with a couple of tablespoons of molasses and warm spices added to the mix.
I usually go with melted butter if making classic or chocolate pizzelle, and, if there's a complementary citrus flavor going on too, extra-virgin olive oil (lemon pizzelle). Here I got skittish with adding extra liquid in the form of molasses so decided on extra-light/light olive oil as the fat in the hopes of producing a slightly crispier pizzelle. Works like a charm (though butter is totally fine, too).
Something I've experienced every now and then when making gingerbread pizzelle is a bit of sticking beyond what I typically get with regular pizzelle. My thought is that the extra sweetness/moisture from the molasses causes this, so brushing the crevices of your pizzelle press with vegetable oil (not canola - it can have an off-putting odor) is important for this one. Repeat as needed. I re-up usually after a few rounds.
Recipe Ingredients
- Oil: Extra-light/light olive oil is my pick for crisp gingerbread pizzelle, but another neutrally-flavored baking oil or melted and slightly cooled butter can work instead.
- Brown Sugar: I like to use dark brown sugar for the extra bump of molasses to keep a good thing going, but light brown sugar is totally fine. If you like to judge your pizzelle doneness based on color, go with light brown sugar as it's not so dark to begin with.
- Molasses: Choose unsulphured molasses, the kind you'll generally find at the grocery store, and not blackstrap, which is bitter and strongly-flavored.
- Baking Powder: Necessary for electric pizzelle maker recipes to create a light and crisp texture. If you've ever run into a pizzelle recipe that doesn't include leavening at all, odds are that it was developed for a stovetop cast iron press. I don't have experience with those so I'm not sure which adjustments, if any, would be needed.
- Spices: Lots of traditional gingerbread spice flavors here, including prominent cinnamon and ground ginger, then allspice, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Pepper: I'm calling this out separately as it's optional, but recommended. A small pinch of white ground pepper (or an even smaller pinch of black pepper) brings a nice little zip to round out gingerbread spice. The friendly bite it adds to pfeffernüsse can't be beat.
How to Make Gingerbread Pizzelle
- Step 1: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground spices, and salt.
- Step 2: Beat eggs and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and thick.
- Step 3: Beat in the oil, molasses, and vanilla extract.
- Step 4: Stir the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients.
- Step 5: Prepare your pizzelle press according to instructions, then place a scoop of batter onto each heated grid.
- Step 6: Close the lid and cook to your desired crispness. Immediately lay flat on a wire rack until cooled.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Set out racks - Set out at least two cooling racks before beginning to cook. Gingerbread pizzelle need to lay flat immediately upon leaving the pizzelle press or else they'll cool and crisp all bent up.
- Timing may vary - Consider your first batch a test to get your timing down. All pizzelle makers can operate differently, so you may need to adjust my exact timing and crispness level noted in the recipe card to achieve perfectly toasty pizzelle to your taste.
- Ensure bold flavor - Fresh spices lose their oomph as time goes by, so consider replacing them after several years. I'm not a major stickler for this, but if your allspice is eight years old, I'd say go ahead and get a new one before your holiday baking this year. (Pointing no fingers! I found a prehistoric cream of tartar in my own pantry the other day).
- Don't sweat the overflow - For the most precise design, right as the gingerbread pizzelle come off the grid you can trim away any batter overflow with kitchen shears. You'll only have a few seconds to do this before they harden, at which point you can "snap" off any scraggly bits.
More Festive Dessert Recipes
Did you enjoy this recipe? I’d love for you to leave a star rating and a comment review in the recipe card below!
Gingerbread Pizzelle
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup (220g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ¾ teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of ground white pepper (or a smaller pinch black pepper), optional
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup light olive oil or melted unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Vegetable oil for greasing press, as needed
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and pepper (if using) in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside for now.
- Add eggs and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or to a large mixing bowl). Beat on low-medium speed until smooth and thickened.
- Mix in the oil, then the molasses and vanilla extract on low-medium speed until well-combined.
- Pour the combined dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix on low speed or stir by hand until just combined (no dry flour streaks remain), stopping to scrape down the batter from the sides and up from the bottom as needed to efficiently mix everything together.
- Set out at least two large wire cooling racks, then prepare your pizzelle press according to the manufacturer's instructions. Even with an electric/non-stick press, I recommend thoroughly brushing both sides of the grids with a thin layer of vegetable oil before turning it on to prevent any sticking in the nooks. Heat the press to your desired level (I set the lever to around 3.75 out of 5 on the crispness scale).
- Once heated, scoop a scant tablespoon of batter onto the center of each grid and close the lid. Cook for the set time for your desired crispness - times may vary depending upon your pizzelle press model, but I aim for 1 minute 20 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds for these gingerbread pizzelle.
- Once done, carefully move your pizzelle to the cooling racks, ensuring they lay completely flat. They'll crisp up quickly. Continue with the remaining batter, greasing the crevices of the grids again as needed, taking care not to stack the pizzelle until they're entirely cool. By the time my second rack is filling up, the first pizzelle are able to be stacked so you can reuse the first rack.
- Once totally cooled, dust gingerbread pizzelle with powdered sugar before serving.
Video
Notes
- Oil vs. Butter: Using oil will produce very crispy pizzelle if that's your preference, but they'll still be crispy if you'd like to use melted butter.
- Storage: Once completely cool, store gingerbread pizzelle in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to two weeks (or longer). They freeze well in this manner to - just take care not to smush them so they'll break.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
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