The thin, crispy waffle cookie from Italy made with a patterned iron is called a pizzelle.
Pizzelle are traditionally made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter or oil, and flavorings such as anise, anisette, vanilla, or lemon zest. A pizzelle iron presses the batter into a thin round cookie and leaves a decorative pattern—often a snowflake, family crest, or other design—on both sides.
The cookie is strongly associated with Italy’s Abruzzo region and is also traditional in nearby Molise and Lazio. Regional names include ferratelle, nevole, catarrette, and cancelle. Pizzelle are especially popular during Christmas and Easter and are often served at Italian weddings.
Pizzelle are sometimes confused with cannoli because warm pizzelle can be rolled into tubes and filled with ricotta cream or hazelnut spread. That technique creates a cannoli-like shell, but the original flat patterned cookie remains a pizzelle. Norwegian krumkake is a close relative: it is also thin and patterned, but is normally rolled into a cone.