In my story, Basilio figures out a way to work the pizzelle iron himself, but it can be pretty difficult. Two people are really needed when an old-fashioned iron is in play.
As for finding such an iron, try eBay or antiques stores in neighborhoods that were once Italian strongholds. New-fangled electric pizzelle irons are easy to find at Bed, Bath & Beyond or any housewares store. —RA
6 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons oil of anise
1/2 tablespoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
Mix eggs, vegetable oil, anise and lemon extract in a deep pot or bowl. Thoroughly mix in the sugar with an electric mixer, adding flour gradually for proper consistency, which should be thick like dough— not like batter.
Drop a dollop of dough molded into a sphere roughly the size of a golf ball into the center of the hot open iron. Close the handles of the iron and hold them tightly together for about the time it takes to say a quick “Hail Mary"— perhaps 20 seconds, or so. Then turn the iron onto the other side and repeat the process. After 20 seconds, open the iron and pluck the cookie by the edges with the tines of a fork.
Hint: Dribble a little oil over the dough in the pot every now and then to keep it moist and to prevent it sticking to the iron, which will ruin the cookie. Makes approximately 7 dozen cookies.
