My Cookie Exchange Contribution

This is not a diet friendly cookie so if that is what you are looking for then you need to move on. On the other hand if you are looking for a fairly easy cookie to prepare that will have your family, friends and neighbors calling you blesses and asking for more then this is it. It is the absolute favorite of every one I know and I'm the only one they know who can make it so I get lots of requests. Oh, one more thing, you will need to purchase a pizzely iron if you don't have one already.

Pizzelle

6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup margarine (melted)
2 Tbsp extract (I like traditional anise and almond best, but use what your favorite.)
3 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
water (optional, use if the batter is too thick)

Spray your pizzelle iron with Pam and allow it to preheat.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until light and smooth. Add margarine and the chosen extract. Sift flour and baking powder together and slowly add to the egg mixture, mixing the batter until smooth.

Place a Tbsp full in the middle of each pizzelle outline on the pizzelle iron. Allow to cook according to your irons instructions. I use a fork to remove each pizzelle from the top of the iron and then let them cool on a rack. After they are cool store them in an air tight container, That is provided you can stay ahead of the hungry mouths.

Now for the tricky part. You have to be sure that you have let the first one cook long enough. If its not ready then the iron will not open easily, at least mine wont. If you force it open you will have a mess from the pizzelle sticking to the top and bottom of the iron. Clean it up and try again letting it cook longer this time. If you let it cook too long it will burn (duh!) Don't give up. Count it as a lesson and continue on.

All that said, often the first one will stick at least until you have used it enough years to get it seasoned well. (Mine didn't stick at all this year.) Just clean up the mess the first one makes and continue on. Spray it with Pam again if you need to. It shouldn't stick any more and you shouldn't have to spray it again.