Barbara has graceously shared Charles Ciolli’s Pizzelle pastry recipe.  The recipe is not Charles’ original recipe, but it’s pretty close.  Barbara made the cookies this year at Easter. Carmino (Charles) Ciolli is Barbara’s grandfather and is the brother of my great grandmother Elvira.  You can read a blog post about Charles by clicking here or by clicking on his name in the category section on the right side of the page.  Barbara sent me the photo below of Charles’ press and it’s handle.  The press was used over an open flame on a gas stove.  Barbara said “it weighs a ton and dates back to 1923”.  Click on recipe card above or the photo below to see enlargements.

The following is some information I found about these cookies. Pizzelle pastries were originally made in Ortona, in the Abruzzo region of south central Italy.  The name comes from the Italian word for “round” and “flat”. The Pizzelle iron was held by hand over a hot burner on the stove top.  The iron stamps a snowflake pattern onto both sides of the thin golden brown cookie.  Pizzelle are popular during Christmas and Easter and are often found at Italian weddings.  It is also common for two pizzelle’s to be sandwiched with cannoli cream (ricotta blended with sugar) or hazelnut spread.  Pizzelle can also be rolled while still warm using a wooden dowel to create cannoli shells.

So I ordered a Pizzelle Press.  It does not have my initials in it and does not weight a ton and it plugs into the wall.  I bought it on Amazon.com.  Yesterday Ashley, Abby, and I made our own Pizzelle cookie memories and started a new tradition.  Next up – Ashley wants to make Cannolis.

Barbara also shared photos of the Lamb cake that she made at Easter.  The mold is her mother’s and is at least 60 years old.  I love that Barbara continues these family memories with her children and grandchildren.  Thank you for sharing with us Barb!