I'm a holiday whore. That sounds a lot worse than you think... let me re-phrase that... I love EVERY holiday! I love getting decorations for them, baking for them, watching holiday movies, even when it comes to the "overrated" holiday of Valentine's Day (as some people refer to it as). Some people find this holiday overrated because they see it as just a cash grab and you should be telling the people you love that you love them everyday.
Although people who feel this way have a point, because of our fast-paced lives the sad reality is we don't tell the people we love that we love them every day, or celebrate love everyday for that matter. These holidays are important because they remind us to do so. We have these negative thoughts about these holidays because of how material they've become, but celebrating with material things means you failed. The best way to celebrate is spending time with one another and FOOD! Cooking and baking something for another person in my opinion is the most affectionate thing you could do, because it's thoughtful and it shows that you invested your time for them.
I'm showing my love this year to the people that are close to me with Pizelle Abbruzzese, a traditional cookie from the region of Abbruzzo, Italy. My dad's side of the family is from this region and we either eat the pizelle plain or sandwiched together with jam in the middle. I took it to another level this time and cut them with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and made a mini heart-shaped window on one side so you can see the jam in the middle. Be cute.
Ingredients (For Every Egg) - 1 Egg Makes Approx. 10 Cookies:
1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
Flour - as needed
Whatever jam your heart desires - I used strawberry
Splash of cognac or anise (usually 2 shots for 5 eggs)
*You will need a pizelle presser and a heart-shaped cookie cutter
Directions:
Mix ingredients together and add the flour slowly until the batter is thicker than cake batter, a similar consistency to glue.
Put Crisco or Pam on the pizelle presser just for the first pizelle.
Scoop the batter onto the presser and close.
Bake until a golden brown, approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute, however, keep an eye on your cookies because every presser is different.
Lift the cookies off the presser with a fork and lay flat on a table cloth.
While the cookies are still soft before they cool, cut them with the cookie cutter.
Once they cool, spread the jam and sandwich them together.