Perhaps you have seen that tiny, round, crisp wafer cookies with the snowflake pattern and wondered what they were. The cookies are called pizzelle and the only way to make them is the use of pizzelle irons. The following will give a brief history of these irons from their invention in Italy to their current form.
True to their name, the first pizzelle makers were made of iron. This cookie originated in the Abruzzi region of Italy, which is in the center of the country. The name of the cookie means small and round, and it is often translated as little pizza.
The first versions of these cookie makers looked a bit like tongs or forceps. The first cookies were cooked over an open fire, so the first generation of these machines had to have extremely long arms so that the pizzelle baker would not get burned. To picture these old cookie machines, try to imagine a waffle press attached to two long poles.
As these irons advanced, the cookie advanced as well. Soon these machines could be placed directly on top of stoves. It was around this time in the cookie’s development that the blacksmiths in charge of making these machines started crafting intricate designs into the casts of the cookie makers. This innovation is how it gained the beautiful designs that are now the cookie’s trademark.
Of course, contemporary pizzelle irons are predominantly electric, but the basic design is not much different from the original cookie makers back in Abruzzi, Italy. It is quite fascinating that this tiny crisp little cookie is still so strongly connected to its cultural heritage. Today these cookies are popular all over the word. Aside from Italy, the strongholds are mostly in the Northeastern United States. Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio are often considered pizzelle country for their strong Italian-American communities.
