What Are Pizzelle? Italy's Original Waffle Cookie

By Alessia, founder  ♥  Updated October 2026  ♥  8 min read

The historyAnise vs vanillaHow they're madeHow to serveFAQ

Pizzelle are Italy's oldest cookie: a thin, crisp waffle cookie pressed between two hot patterned plates until it comes out looking like lace made of butter. Say it "peet ZEL leh." One is a pizzella. Nobody in recorded history has stopped at one.

If you have ever eaten a waffle cone, you have tasted their descendant. Ours come from Abruzzo tradition by way of Nonna's kitchen in Calgary, where the same iron has been flicking out Sunday pizzelle for decades.

A cookie older than the fork

Most food historians trace pizzelle to Abruzzo, in central Italy, where they were pressed over open flames in long handled irons that often carried the family crest. Every wedding had them. Every festival had them. Every Sunday had them, whether or not there was an occasion, because in an Italian house the cookie is the occasion.

The name comes from pizze, meaning round and flat. The attitude comes free. Families passed irons down like jewellery, and the pattern pressed into each cookie told you whose kitchen it came from. Our iron's pattern is a snowflake. Nonna's wrist flick is the part you cannot inherit.

Anise, vanilla, or rainbow

The classic debate splits every Italian family: anise, the licorice kissed original, or vanilla, the crowd pleaser. Nonna makes both and will not be taking questions.

Then Alessia added a third contender: the Rainbow Pizzelle, pressed with confetti so it dresses for the party it is headed to. Nonna rolled her eyes. Then she asked for two more. That is how every recipe gets approved around here.

How pizzelle are made

The batter is simple: flour, eggs, butter, sugar. The art is in the timing. Each cookie presses for under a minute between the hot plates, then cools flat on a rack, where it turns from soft to snap in about sixty seconds. Pull it early and it bends. Leave it late and it browns. Nonna does not use a timer. Nonna is the timer.

While they are still warm, pizzelle can be curled around a wooden dowel into cannoli shells, or pinched into little cups for gelato. This is showing off. We endorse it completely.

How to serve them

• With espresso. The only non negotiable. The cookie softens just slightly in the steam above the cup.
• Dusted with icing sugar. The snowflake pattern catches it like fresh powder.
• As a gelato sandwich. Two pizzelle, one scoop, zero regrets.
• On a cookie platter. Fan them along the edge so the pattern shows. They are the showpiece; let them show.

Pizzelle FAQ

How do you pronounce pizzelle?
"Peet ZEL leh." The double z sounds like ts, if you want full marks from Nonna.

Are pizzelle the same as stroopwafels?
No. Stroopwafels are chewy, filled with caramel, and Dutch. Pizzelle are thin, crisp, and centuries older. We said what we said.

How long do pizzelle stay fresh?
Sealed, up to 90 days. They are a dry, crisp cookie, which makes them one of the best Italian cookies to ship and to gift. Ours arrive in an airtight box with the freshness date stamped on it.

Can you make pizzelle without a pizzelle maker?
Not really. The pattern needs the iron, and the iron needs a Nonna. That is rather the point of buying them from someone whose Nonna owns one.

Are pizzelle gluten free?
Traditional pizzelle, including ours, are made with wheat flour. Most of the rest of our line is naturally gluten free; the almond, coconut and meringue classics never needed flour in the first place. Browse the gluten free collection.

Ready for the real thing? Shop the whole line of Italian cookies, baked in small batches from recipes Nonna never wrote down.

PizzelleGlossaryItalian cookies