The Best Pizzelle Maker

Not as Highly Rated but Offering Unique Features
11. Piccolo Pizzelle Baker by CucinaPro
12. Palmer Oval Pizzelle Maker
13. VillaWare V5230 InterBake3—2 Square Multibaker14. Krumkake Baker By CucinaPro15. SCI Scandicrafts Stovetop Pizzelle Iron16. Nordic Ware Norwegian Krumkake Iron
17. Fante's Round Stovetop Pizzelle Maker SKU: 786918. Limited Edition Square Stovetop Pizzelle Iron With Black Handles: SKU: 61408119. Hand Pizzelle Iron Brio SKU A606SC_____________________________________

Pizzelle Maker Buying Guide
For those of Italian descent, pizzelles represent serious baking. Children and adults alike anticipate the wafer-thin rounds at every wedding, holiday and event. The intricately patterned cookies must have just the right shade, crispness and underlying tenderness to the bite.
Then, there’s that unmistakable taste—the perfect melt-in-your-mouth combination of eggs, sugar, butter and flour along with vanilla, lemon or—of course—anise.
The making of them is an intense process, each cookie taking mere seconds to bake yet hours to cool to the perfect crispness—that is, if they last that long.

It all begins with the right pizzelle maker, baker, iron or press. We’re here to help you find the right one for you.

How Traditional Do You Want To Go?

Pizzelles originated in the Abruzzo region of Italy. At the time—the eighth century—bakers dropped batter into handheld iron presses that they heated over a fire. Each press had a pattern that transferred to each pizzelle baked. The most common design used a snowflake, but wealthy families often had irons with family crests or other fancy designs.
If you want to make pizzelles traditionally, in a stovetop iron—or over a fire while camping, for example—you still can. Single irons now made of cast aluminum come in snowflake and rosette patterns as well as square but thin waffle-like textures that are more rustic. Handles can be rather long and often feature wooden grips. We’ve selected a few notables:

- Fante's Round Stovetop Pizzelle Maker is a true handheld traditional. You’ll need mitts with this press, as the handles are steel ending with a loop catch. Five-inch pizzelles are about 6 millimeters thick and carry a six-petal flower imprint.[17]
- Fante’s Limited Edition Square Stovetop Pizzelle Iron yields a more rustic star-and-diagonals design.[18]
- SCI Scandicrafts’ Stovetop Pizzelle Iron is a traditional single iron with wooden handles made to use on a stovetop or grill. It has a six-petal rosette pattern and comes with a wooden cone roller as well.[15]
- Nordic Ware’s Norwegian Krumkake Iron is similar to a pizzelle iron. We liked this one because it’s designed to bake in an accompanying holder that heats on the stove burner. It also has a fancy leaf-and-flower wreath pattern. The batter goes in the iron, and the iron goes in the holder. The double handles are shorter but wooden and easy to grip.[16]
- For purists, the Brio Hand Pizzelle Iron is actually made in Italy and comes with a wooden cone roller.[19]

With the traditional route, you must flip the iron halfway through. Because of that, each cookie needs a few more seconds than it would in an electric pizzelle maker.

What Size and How Many Pizzelles Do You Want To Make?

Conventional electric pizzelle bakers make two 5-inch cookies at a time. For a daintier wafer, Cuisinart makes a two-cookie press that yields 4-inch pizzelles.[4]
Several manufacturers make models that bake three or four pizzelles at a time. However, there are a few trade-offs:[5,11,12]
- First, the pizzelles are smaller—usually about 3 inches in diameter. One model makes three ovals, each one 2¾ x 4⅝ inches.
- Second, the batter begins baking the moment it hits the cooking surface. Dropping pizzelle batter is an art. Each dollop must be placed just so to get a perfect circle. If you’re not quick, your cookies may be unevenly baked.
- Third, removing the pizzelles must happen quickly also. If you’re planning to roll them, you’ll have to be even quicker, as pizzelles begin stiffening as soon as you open the press.

Is There a Difference Between Cast Aluminum and Nonstick Pizzelle Makers?

Thanks to the high butter content of pizzelle batter, you really don’t have to choose whether to stick or not stick. Pizzelle recipes were created long before nonstick sprays or coatings were ever discovered.
Nevertheless, many manufacturers offer their models in both nonstick and cast aluminum. CucinaPro and Palmer, for example, make both polished and nonstick versions of their two-round bakers.[1,2,6,8] Palmer does limit its three-round bakers to polished surfaces, but VillaWare, Chef’s Choice and Cuisinart favor nonstick for their models.

That said, nonstick surfaces can offer convenience and easy cleanup with little more than a quick wipe-down. On the other hand, nonstick surfaces aren’t metal-utensil friendly, and organic bakers typically shy from them.

Many bakers do credit untreated cast aluminum surfaces with giving their pizzelles more sharply defined relief and edges to the patterning. You’ll need to brush grids with a bit of oil or spray much like cast iron until it becomes seasoned. Once it’s yours, you should be able to clean it easily with a fine wire brush and a soft cloth—no water! If you worry about germs, remember how hot those grids get.

Do Pizzelle Press Catches, Latches and Locks Really Matter?

The unequivocal answer is yes! The term pizzelle means small flat round. To achieve the distinctive uniform yet patterned thinness, makers have some type of catch. Otherwise, the baking powder that makes the batter rise could also raise the press. Batters wouldn’t spread or cook evenly, and the pizzelles would be too wafflelike.
A common feature is a simple wire swing catch or loop to secure the top and bottom press handles together. It’s usually on the top handle. When you close the press, you slip the loop over the bottom handle for the baking minutes and flip it back to remove the finished rounds. CucinaPro, Palmer and VillaWare use these on their top sellers, models with both a top and bottom handle.[1,2,6,7]

If little hands are helping or your fingers are no longer so nimble, some manufacturers are offering latching presses. Cuisinart and Chef’s Choice both make models that catch when you lower the lid. You still have to release the lock to remove the baked cookies.[4,5]

Something to keep in mind is that there is no one thickness for all pizzelles. While catches, latches and loops do ensure uniformity, their function is to press the dough or batter to the thickness—or thinness—that the baker was designed for. VillaWare is a company known for the thinness of its pizzelles, but batter consistency also affects how thin and crisp the finished pizzelle will be.[7]

What About Ready Lights and Bake Settings?

Some pizzelle presses are truly classic in that they are much as they were years ago. They get quite hot, but it’s up to the baker to gauge when they’re ready for batter and when the pizzelles are done. Many Italian children have no doubt learned to count while helping. “One pizzelle, two pizzelle, three pizzelle . . .”

For a little assistance, CucinaPros have a preheating and heating light.[1,2,11] The VillaWare Prego is similar, lighting when it is heating.[7] These lights cannot be used to determine whether the pizzelles are done, only whether the iron is heating or at temperature.

For more help, Cuisinart’s press has five browning settings and an indicator light that goes from red to green, alerting you to when it’s heating and when your pizzelles are baked to your chosen browning setting.[4] The Chef's Choice 835 Pizzelle Pro Express Bake also has red and green alert lights but adjusts through a browning dial.[5]

How Big Are Pizzelle Makers, and What About Storage?

Pizzelle makers are rather small appliances, often similar to or even smaller than many waffle makers.
Traditional pizzelle irons weigh between 2 and 3 pounds. Long irons like the Scandicrafts Stovetop Pizzelle Iron measure 24 x 8 x 3 inches.[15] A pairing like Nordic Ware’s Norwegian Krumkake Iron has fewer space requirements, as the iron has a shorter handle but larger base, putting the press at 13 x 10.3 x 2.5 inches.[16]

Electric pizzelle makers can weigh as little as 4 pounds—the Chef’s Choice 835 Pizzelle Pro Express Bake[5]—or as much as 5.9 pounds—Palmer’s Oval Pizzelle Maker[12]. Most weigh 5 pounds give or take a few ounces.

Dimensions can be deceptive, as measurements include the handle, which for many of the classic electric models is only front and center. Classic bakers are for the most part 10 to 11 inches wide but only 5 inches front to back, with a 5-inch handle in front, leaving room to either side. If you secure the loop, you can store VillaWare’s Prego, for example, vertically per the manufacturer.

More self-contained, the Chef’s Choice 835 Pro Express Bake’s round shape may appear at first more compact.[5] However, it actually measures 11.8 x 10.7 x 4 inches. The Chef’s Choice 834 is slightly larger at 12.4 x 10.5 x 5 inches.[3]

A final consideration when looking at pizzelle maker dimensions is the height measurement. Pizzelle bakers are countertop appliances and get quite hot. Models with legs put more distance between your counter's surface and the hot press grids. VillaWare’s Prego press is 5.5 inches high[7] while Mt’s Non-Stick Pizzelle Baker is 5.3 inches high.[9] All of the CucinaPros are 5 inches in height, including the four-round Piccolo model.[1,2,11]

Can I Get a Different Pizzelle Pattern or Custom Pizzelle Press Grid Design?

If you’re looking for something other than the norm:

- Palmer actually offers an engravable custom plate pizzelle iron on its two-round Model 1000. You can order a monogram or up to seven letters in script that will display in the middle of each pizzelle. It costs a little more—$70 for a polished iron or $75 for a nonstick one plus an additional $35 for the customization—but it turns each pizzelle into a personal statement.[10]
- CucinaPro makes an electric nonstick krumkake baker with a pretty pattern that yields two 5-inch cookies each time. It looks just like a pizzelle maker—just a Scandinavian version with hearts and flowers.[14]
- Palmer’s oval pizzelle maker offers a little something different as well, opting for—front and back—a large star and crest, a "starflake" and diagonals, and a traditional snowflake and grid pattern. Dough or batter shaped like a cylinder yields the desired result.
- VillaWare makes a V5230 InterBake3, which is multipurpose. It comes with interchangeable grids to make pocket sandwiches, waffles or snowflake-pattern pizzelles.[13]

How Much Do Pizzelle Makers Cost?

Fifty dollars is a baseline average, with a few costing less but most more.
- You can find handheld pizzelle irons for as little as $20 or so, but better quality stovetop models are more likely to run $50 or $60.
- The CucinaPros cost around $50 while Chef’s Choice models can be had for closer to $40. Palmers, Cuisinarts and VillaWare’s Prego, however, run around $70.

What Will Make Investing in a Pizzelle Maker Worth the Money?

Read reviews carefully. Baking batches of pizzelles takes skill. A tweak of the batter, a brush of oil or a different technique can yield tremendous improvement. A novice’s concerns may differ greatly from an experienced pizzellanista’s answers. Recipes matter, as ingredient ratios determine stickiness, crispness, thickness, bite, clean removal and even ease of rolling into cannoli shells.
By the way, cannoli rods or cone rollers will let you curl still-hot pizzelles into shapes for filling later. And plenty of close-grid cooling racks are a must. However, once you’ve mastered the flick of the knife and perfected the off-center drop from the spoon, you may find you’ve discovered your new favorite small kitchen appliance—and a delicious, versatile celebration dessert.

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This page about Pizzelle Maker was composed by V. Tobies and published by Alternative.me.
It was last updated on 2024-04-18 08:20:17 and has been viewed 3743 times.