Precious Aunt Lill's Pizzale Waffles

This is a staple in Italian households and are served mainly at holiday time or other important events such as Christenings, graduations, etc. This recipe has been in my family for generations and all my non-Italian friends love them. My Aunt, Lillian, whom we all loved so much was the lady who taught my cousins and I how to make these. She's passed away now, but Pizzale Waffles and Aunt Lill go hand in hand! I like this recipe because they are very easy to make and are beautiful to look at. Special note: you must have a Pizzale Waffle Iron to make them - the irons are available at most Italian food stores or better department stores.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 36

Ingredients

• 6  eggs
• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 4  teaspoons brown sugar
• 1⁄2 lb margarine or 1⁄2 lb butter, melted and cooled
• 2  tablespoons  of either  lemon flavoring or 2  tablespoons  almond flavoring or 2  tablespoons  anise flavoring or 2  tablespoons  orange flavoring or 2  tablespoons vanilla flavoring
• 3 1⁄2 cups flour

Directions

1. Instructions: Pre-heat Pizzalle iron as instructions for iron dictate.
2. Beat together eggs until lemon colored and gradually add sugar. Add cooled margarine, flavoring, and brown sugar. Beat together until smooth. Gradually add flour, a little at a time. Batter will thicken, so if necessary, finish mixing by hand until batter is thoroughly mixed.
3. Spray pre-heated iron with cooking spray. Place your iron on top of several layers of newspaper to catch the drippings as they cook. Drop 1 tablespoon of batter in center of waffle maker (the Teflon one with patterned plates is preferred). Using a potholder, hold cover of iron down for 1 to 2 minutes or until waffle is golden brown. Trim excess batter off the plates with a butter knife or soft spatula if batter oozes out the sides while they are cooking. This keeps clean-up to a minimum later on. Don’t burn them! If top of iron sticks to batter when lifting, hold it down a few more seconds. When cooked properly, they should just have a slightly golden glow. Remove them with a fork, place on a flat surface and immediately while still hot trim the rough edges off with a sharp knife so they end up in a circular shape. Care for the iron like you would any teflon surface - don't scratch it.
4. Cool waffles on flat surface, side by side -don’t stack while hot or they’ll get soggy. When completely cooled, sprinkle powdered sugar on them and serve on a pretty plate.
5. These are delicious and they make wonderful edible gifts at holiday time or to bring to parties. You may also use the broken ones as mix-ins for ice cream, or may serve strawberries and coolwhip on top of them. They are best stored in a big tin with a well fitting lid. If you store them in plastic ware, they will get soggy.