Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Vegan Pizzelle Cookies!

I loved making pizzelle cookies as a kid with my sister & brother - we always had fun mixing up the batter with different extracts like anise, almond, orange or lemon - and dusting the hell out of the cookies with powdered sugar.  We always broke off the edges of the overly large cookies and ate all our mistakes.

As a vegan, it's often challenging to modify some recipes - most pizzelle cookie recipes use equal amounts of fat and sugar, and an amount of flour that is equal to both.  However - no liquid - so it's the melted butter and egg that provide the moisture, making for a very sticky, thick batter.

The other trick is in getting to know your waffle iron - you know the kind with waffle grids on one side and pizzelle cookie grids on the other.  These pieces of equipment can be tricky as the temperature settings are far from precise - mine has "dark" and "light" with a small arrow in the middle and turns almost all the way pas the word on each side!  Always start on the "light" side - and increase the heat if your cookies aren't coming out crispy enough (don't forget - they get crispy after they cool and you can put them back in the hot iron to cook a bit longer so they are crispier).

The right amount of batter & pressure are also important - if you use too much batter, your cookie will separate in the middle when you try to open the cooker.  If you use too little - it'll be very thin and crispy, and perhaps not full size.

SPECIAL TOOLS: 
  • pizzelle iron
  • silicone brush 
  • wood or bamboo tongs 
  • a disposable bamboo chopstick 
 INGREDIENTS:
  • 1.5 c flour
  • .5 c canola oil or melted coconut oil
  • 3/4 c sugar
  • 1 c smooth, unsweetened applesauce
  • 3.5 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • (optional) 1 tsp anise extract or 1 tsp almond extract
  • (optional) dried Meyer lemon zest, crushed
  • Spectrum vegetable shortening (for the pizzelle iron)
INSTRUCTIONS:
  1. Mix the sugar & fat til blended. 
  2. Add the applesauce and other liquid ingredients.
  3. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients.
  4. Preheat your pizzelle iron!  Once it is hot, make ONE pizzelle - if you find the iron is too hot and make a mess - you'll have less to clean up!
  5. Using a silicone spatula - put a tiny (like 1/8 to 1/4) dab of shortening on the plates - use the silicone brush to move it around as it melts.
  6. Measure your batter - use a 1/4 measure or a spoon so you can determine the right quantity and make it consistent.
  7. Press down lightly - don't overdo it - and let the pizzelle cook.  After a minute or two, gently pry up the cooker to check - if the pizzelle is starting to pull away from the cooker, it's ok to use the chopstick to pry it down a bit. 
  8. When the cookie is lightly browned, remove it to a cooking rack with wooden tongs. The pizzelles will be soft when you take them out and crisp up as they cool!  
  9. Lay flat for cookies, or roll them into tubes for cannoli or cones for ice cream before they cool too much.
For cannoli - check out the Millennium Cookbook - there's an insanely caloric recipe in there for filling.

One last tip - don't overclean your cooker!  It needs to be wiped to remove any excess oil, and use the bamboo chopstick to loosen charred bits.  Scrubbing the plates in soapy water  will just make your cookies stick more next time.

7 comments:

Rita Mewing said...

Thanks. I was looking for a vegan version of this recipe so I could bring these to work. My boss is vegan and I don't want to leave anyone one out.

Jenn said...

Cool - let me know how it works out! Trust me on this - nobody will know they are vegan if you don't tell and they'll get eaten up just the same!

Rita Mewing said...

Everyone loved them! Really, really, really loved them. My boss is going to let me bring my pizzelle maker in to work next week and make some for the rest of the staff. Everyone is really curious about the grill. Thanks again for posting this recipe. I plan to make some for my Mom at Christmas.

Jenn said...

I'm so glad to hear it worked out for you - I'm going to make some with my mom next week.

Unknown said...

Your recipe made a lot of people happy today. :)

Anonymous said...

For the 3.5 tsp of ener-G, do you mean 3.5 tsp of dry powder? Or 3.5 tsp of dry powder then mixed with water (which would become a lot more than 3.5 tsp total)? Or do you mean 3.5 tsp of a pre-mixed enerG-water concoction? This is confusing.

Jenn said...

HJV - yes - I mean dry powder measured - not mixed with water. Sorry for the late response!