Pizzelle vs Stroopwafel: A Delicious European Cookie Comparison
Pizzelle vs Stroopwafel: Pizzelle and stroopwafel are delicious cookies originating from Europe. These cookies are prepared using specific irons similar to those used when cooking waffles. During cooking, the iron absorbs heat from the heat source and, in turn, heats the cookie dough, producing crispy cookie waffles. The iron also imprints beautiful patterns on the cookie’s surface.
Pizzelle and stroopwafel share some similarities and have their differences. They are both thin and round waffle cookies. Stroopwafel has a caramel filling between its two layers, while pizzelle do not. Here’s more to pizzelle and stroopwafel.
Pizzelle vs Stroopwafel: Overview
Pizzelle is an Italian cookie waffle with snowflake patterns popular during holidays like Christmas and Easter. This cookie may be hard and crisp or soft and chewy.
Stroopwafel is a Dutch cookie waffle with grid patterns consisting of two cookie layers with a caramel filling in between. The authentic stroopwafel is thin, crispy, and chewy.
About Pizzelle
Pizzelle are traditional waffle cookies originating from Italy. These cookies were first made in Ortona, in the Abruzzo region of Southern Italy. The term pizzelle came from the word “pizza,” which means round or flat. Pizzelle are therefore thin and round cookies with patterns on their surface.
Pizzelle cookies are most popular during Easter and Christmas. They also don’t miss in Italian special occasions like weddings, alongside other traditional pastries like traditional Italian cookies and cannoli.
These cookies can be soft and chewy or hard and crisp, depending on the ingredients used and the method used to prepare them. They can also be molded into different shapes, like the shape of baskets.
To make pizzelle, you’ll need flour, eggs, butter or vegetable oil, sugar, and some form of flavor; star anise is mostly used, but vanilla and lemon zest can work well too.
These cookies are cooked on a pizzelle iron. The pizzelle iron works the same way as the waffle iron. It heats and then transfers heat to the cookie dough, imprinting snowflake patterns on both sides of the waffle surface.
Once cooked, the pizzelle cookies can be eaten as they are, sandwiched with hazelnut spread or cannoli cream (made from ricotta blended with sugar). They can also be rolled into a wooden dowel while still warm to make cannoli shells.
About Stroopwafel
Stroopwafel is a traditional waffle cookie originating from the Netherlands and invented in the Dutch city of Gouda. The term stroopwafel consists of two Dutch words Stroop, meaning syrup, and wafel translating to waffle. Stroopwafel is a baked cookie dough joined by a caramel filling.
Stroopwafels are a popular and mainstream food in the Netherlands that you can find on almost every street corner. This cookie dough is made from flour, white sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and yeast.
The milk is mixed with yeast and left to sit for 5 minutes. The rest of the ingredients are added to the flour, kneaded into a softball, and left to rise for an hour. After one hour, the dough is divided into portions and left to cook for about a minute until golden brown.
The caramel filling is made from brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and dark corn syrup. The ingredients are placed in a saucepan and stirred until boiling. Once the butter and sugar have dissolved, the mixture is cooled off and ready. The caramel filling is filled between two cookie layers to make the stroopwafel.
Differences Between Pizzelle And Stroopwafel
Although both are traditional European delicious treats, pizzelle and stroopwafel, differ in ways, like:
Origin
Pizzelle originated from Southern Italy and is popular on holidays like Easter and Christmas. On the other hand, stroopwafel originated from the Netherlands and was invented in the Dutch city of Gouda. Stroopwafel is popular in the Netherlands and is found on every street corner.
Type Of Patterns
Pizzelle iron is used to imprint patterns on both surfaces of the pizzelle. This iron mainly imprints snowflake patterns, but other pizzelle iron can imprint floral patterns too.
The stroopwafel iron is different from that of pizzelle and imprints grid patterns resembling those on waffles but a bit smaller on both surfaces of the stroopwafel.
Presence Of Caramel Filling
The traditional Italian pizzelle do not have a caramel filling.
As for the stroopwafel, this one has a caramel filling between its two cookie layers. The caramel filling is made using brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Once the syrup is ready, it is spread over the waffle cookie, and the layers are joined. This syrup then binds the layers as the waffles sets.
Ingredients Used
Pizzelle vs Stroopwafel Pizzelle is made using flour, sugar, eggs, butter, or vegetable fat, and some form of flavor. This type of cookie does not have milk or leavening agents like yeast or baking powder.
On the other hand, stroopwafel is made from flour, sugar, butter, eggs, dry yeast, and warm milk. Stroopwafel cookie dough uses warm milk and is leavened with dry yeasts, unlike pizzelle cookie dough. It is also not flavored.
Texture
Pizzelle comes in two textures, depending on how you like it. It can be hard and crisp or soft and chewy. Authentic Dutch stroopwafel is thin, crispy, and chewy.
How They Are Served
There are different ways of serving pizzelle and stroopwafel.
Pizzelle can be eaten alone as it is or as part of other dessert recipes. E.g., it can be rolled into shells and filled with hazelnut spread or ricotta blended with sugar to make cannoli shells. It can also be molded into various shapes like cups and baskets.
Stroopwafel is best served while fresh, straight from the iron, when the caramel filing is still syrupy and warm. These cookie waffles are usually taken alongside a hot cup of coffee or tea in the morning.
Stroopwafel can be served separately Pizzelle vs Stroopwafel on a saucer or placed over a hot cup of tea or coffee. Doing so slightly melts the caramel filling and warms the cookie.
Conclusion
Pizzelle and stroopwafel are sweet treats originating from Europe. The former may be hard and crispy or soft and chewy and come with either snowflakes or floral patterns. The latter is mostly crispy and chewy with grid patterns, similar to waffles but slightly smaller.