Many years ago I expressed an interest in making pizzelles for our family Christmases. The elders in the family gladly passed the baton to me and I've been making them ever since using the VillaWare Prego Pizzelle Baker that my dad picked up for me. Prior to that I'd been using an ancient model that was once my grandmother's. And while it was nice to use for sentimental reasons, it was just not efficient or easy to use. Performance This model makes two pizzelles at a time so it's much more efficient that the old one that only made one at a time. Pizzelle dough is is typically not sticky (mine isn't anyway) so even though the plates are not non-stick, nothing sticks to them. It's easy to plop 2 balls of dough down, one on each mold, press the handle, and let them cook. It heats up fast and cooks quickly and evenly as well. I use a few different recipes depending on the occasion and all work well. For example, I use a thicker dough with lots of anise oil for our traditional Christmas pizzelle. For friends who aren't crazy anise-loving Sicilians like me, I make a thinner version that is vanilla or almond based and those work out well. I've even used my pizzelle baker to make mini ice cream bowls using the thicker dough with a vanilla base and baking them just briefly so they're not crisp when I remove them from the baker. I quickly round them into a tiny bowl and they make fresh, delicious ice cream "cone" type bowls. I use my pizzelle baker mainly at Christmas for a few hours at a time. It holds the temperature well so I'm able to remove 2 pizzelle and stick 2 more in to bake right away. There's no need to wait for it to come back up to temperature as it holds the temperature nicely. Ease of Cleaning It's easy to clean and the clean up is minimal due to the nature of the dough. Durability My VillaWare Prego Pizzelle Baker has been in use for almost 20 years now and it's still going strong.

Buggheart

Annapolis, MD

Several years ago, I inherited my mother-in-law's **VillaWare Prego Pizzelle Baker**. She no longer wanted to fuss with making them, and I love baking, so it was a great gift. Since then, every Christmas, I make batch upon batch, with different flavors and colors. **About the product: **The **VillaWare Prego Pizzelle Baker** heats to the exact termperature needed to brown the pizzelle cookies. It presses a floral shape onto one side and a plain waffle pattern onto the bottom side. The iron can press two cookies at once. Directions are to brush the iron with oil or spray with non-stick cooking spray, then place a heaping tablespoon on batter onto the molds, close the lid, and allow to bake for approximately 2 minutes, or until the cookie is lightly browned. The baker also comes with a recipe guide for several flavors and styles of cookie. **My take: **The pizzelle is such a versatile cookie. It can be rolled up into a straw-like cookie and used as a garnish in ice cream, it can be pushed into a custard cup while still warm to shape a waffle bowl, rolled into a cone for an ice cream cone, or just left in the traditional flat style for a fantastic cookie. I've used another pizzelle iron in the past that heated on the stove, and it was just too difficult to get the termperature right. The **VillaWare Prego Pizzelle Maker** has found the "sweet spot" for getting perfectly done cookies. I found that you need to drop the batter just a little bit behind the center of the mould, so when it presses down, the flower pattern is more centered. If you use too much cooking spray, it'll also get sticky and goopy, so you must clean it very well once it cools. The iron heats up quickly, and it is very easy to wipe off once the baking is done. While I hardly ever use this, I just don't think Christmas would be the same without my pizzelles!!!

dmlichnerowicz

Just outside Cincinnati, OH

I received this pitzelle iron as a gift and used it pretty much non-stop for several years--works really well, once you find that perfect recipie for tradional pitzelles...Makes them nice and thin and crisp--the non stick is a nice feature....but the heating element finially went on mine come the 3 rd year of use.  I primarily make pitzelles during the winter months--cooler climates are pitzelle making months!  :)  

SteelerXplantGurl

Cedar Rapids, IA