Many people around Utica know Malio Cardarelli as a local author and historian who has spent years writing about our area and preserving its stories.
But years ago, when we were producing a local cooking show (ActiveDay Kitchen), we got to see another side of Malio — in the kitchen making pizzelle!
It became one of our most popular cooking segments, and after coming across the video again in our archives, we thought it was time to bring Malio’s recipe back.
His version is a little different from many pizzelle you find today. Malio likes his very thin, and his recipe includes orange rind and a little whiskey for flavor.
Malio’s Pizzelle
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- ¼ cup whiskey
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ cups flour
- Grated orange rind
Directions
Mix the eggs, whiskey, vegetable oil, sugar, flour and grated orange rind together.
Malio says he makes a “very, very light, watery dough.” He prefers his pizzelle much thinner than the ones typically found in grocery stores.
Place the batter on a heated pizzelle iron and cook.
Once made, the pizzelle can be served flat, the way Malio says they are usually eaten, with powdered sugar on top.
They can also be rolled into a cannoli-style shape and filled with ice cream later. Another idea Malio shares is forming the pizzelle into cups and filling them with pudding, ice cream or fresh fruit.
Malio also remembers how pizzelle were made before modern electric appliances. The old-fashioned irons cooked one pizzelle at a time over a fireplace or gas stove.
“We like them very, very thin.” — Malio Cardarelli
It’s always fun going back through the archives and finding recipes like this — especially when it gives us a chance to see someone so many people know as Malio the historian doing something completely different.
Enjoy!
