Day 1: Grandma Suzie's Pizzelles

I thought it fitting to start with a family tradition.... Pizzelles  

Pizzelles are a light, crispy italian cookie that are made using a pizzelle press. 

I learned how to make these from my husband's Grandma Suzie. When her grandkids were little, she found that they did not like the traditional anise flavored pizzelles so she improvised with orange extract. They make a light, crisp cookie - not too sweet, but just enough. They are great with a tall glass of milk or a warm cup of coffee. Today we made ours green and red at the suggestion of my youngest son and sous chef, JP. We used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste food coloring to get just the right green and red but don't use the grocery store type or your batter will be too runny!

Coffee cans make for a great storage solution but if you don't have them on hand, I have also found that the plastic containers found at the grocery store work great too. You will need a pizzelle iron to make this wonderful treat - mine is a VillaWare ,as was Grandma Suzie's, but any brand will do.

Grandma Suzie's Pizzelles:
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup melted butter (cooled)
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of orange extract (or more to your liking)
4 teaspoons of baking powder
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooled, melted butter, vanilla and orange extract, mix well. Add baking powder and flour, mix well. Batter will be thick. Drop by kitchen tablespoon onto hot press. Count to 30 - or whatever your iron allows for a nice light brown cookie (if using food coloring, be careful not to burn). Remove with fork and lay flat on cooling rack for a few minutes. Store in coffee can or other air tight container. Enjoy!