I have had hours of fun making Pizzells, sharing them, and impressing family and friends with them. There were three different Pizzelle recipes that came with the purchase of the Pizzelle iron, and I tried all three: Classic Pizzelle, Hazelnut, and Chocolate. All three tasted terrific. However, my mind began to whirl around one day of other possible variations that could be added to enhance the already wonderful features of the Pizzelle.
In the process of brainstorming I came up with the idea of using lemon zest in the Classic Pizzelle batter recipe. It seemed to me that the zest would not overpower the flavor of the batter, and the integrity and texture of the Pizzelle would stay intact.
I blended into the batter the zest of one whole lemon, and baked them as usual. The consensus among my friends and co-workers was that the lemon essense was perfectly balanced-no more, no less. Just right. I beamed with pride.
I then decided to get real fancy. My nephew was getting married and it was going to be a simple backyard wedding where the food was to be prepared by family members. I gladly volunteered to make my Pizzelles. Although at the time my own family had not tried my Pizzelles, nor did they even know what they were, I was confident they would be well received. I decided to add a dolop of a cream cheese/sugar/vanilla blend on top of the Pizzelles, and on top of that add fresh quartered strawberries. After the dinner, they were passed around on a nice tray to the guests, and to say the least, they were a hit with the masses. The most common comment that was said about my strawberry topped Pizzelles was that they looked too pretty to eat. I could not have been paid a higher compliment.
Hint: Use clear vanilla for the cream cheese & sugar topping. The whiter the cream cheese looks, the prettier the Pizzelle looks.
