These crispy mini-pizzelle cones are filled with luxurious Strawberry Mousse and covered with dark chocolate. They are sinfully rich but small enough to assuage any guilt. Typically, pizzelles are serves as flat cookies, but while they are still hot you can form them into tubes or cones. We'll show you how easy it is to form them below! This is the perfect dessert when strawberries are at their peak; in the fall, try the Pumpkin-Spice Mousse. You can also swap out the strawberry mousse for Lemon, White Chocolate Raspberry, or Mango Mousse any time of year.
COOKIE RECIPE HELP
INGREDIENTS
1 recipe Pizzelles, below
1 recipe Strawberry Mousse; make at least 20 – 30 minutes ahead, can be made at least 2 days ahead
1/2 cup chocolate, chopped
30 – 50 Sixlet candies
Equipment:
Pizzelle iron; Some irons are larger than others. We used one that makes pizzelles that are 4-inches in diameter
Squeeze bottle
Pastry bag
Large open-star piping tip, such as Ateco #824
1 wooden cone mold, such as the one pictured below or you can make your own (see below)
NOTES
Make your own pizzelle cone mold out of a manila (or any color) file folder or thin cardboard:
1. Measure and cut a 7- x 9-inch piece of cardboard.
2. Roll the cardboard into a cone shape.
3. While holding the tip of the cone, cut the excess cardboard off at the top with scissors.
4. Staple of tap the top of the cone so it cannot unroll. Then tape the seam closed.
5. Roll the cone up in a sheet of aluminum foil.
Smooth the foil with your hands.
Then tuck the excess foil over into the top of the cone.
Now you are ready to roll the pizzelles!
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP I: MAKE THE MINI PIZZELLE CONES
PIZZELLES / recipe alone
INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; spoon into measuring cup and level to rim
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sal
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat your pizzelle iron. Then, spray with nonstick cooking oil spray if needed.
2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, with a hand-held electric mixer or whisk, beat the eggs until combined, add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until light in color, about a minute.
4. Sift flour over the egg mixture and combine with a spoon.
5. Then, add in the melted butter and vegetable oil and stir. The batter will be thick and soft and will stiffen as it sits.
6. Drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the iron (follow the instructions for your iron). They cook very quickly.
7. Remove and cool on a wire cake rack for a flat pizzelle. If desired, use a pair of scissors to trim any ragged edges.
But, we are rolling our just baked pizzelle to make a cone!
STEP II: ROLL THE JUST BAKED MINI PIZZELLES
1. To roll the just baked pizzelle into a cone, take the pizzelle off the iron, place on a paper towel and IMMEDIATELY begin rolling it around the cone mold. If you wait too long, the cookie will crack.
2. Fold up one side, and quickly follow with the other side, as shown in the pictures below.
Hold the seam shut for a few moments, then remove the mold, and hold the seam with two fingers to make sure it stays together.
As the cone cools, it will become rigid, and the cone shape will hold on its own.
7. Invariably, the cones will not have a perfect seal on the bottom. Most will have a little hole at the base.
We can easily fix this with a sixlet candy and melted chocolate, which adds a nice little surprise and an extra dash of yum.
a. Melt 1/2 cup chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler and put it in a squeeze bottle.
b. Put a sixlet into the cone, then squeeze some of the melted chocolate (about a teaspoon) on top of it, so the hole in the bottom of the cone is sealed.
Repeat with the rest of the cones and set them aside.
NOTE: Because the cones come to a point, gather together small glasses and cups to keep them upright after you pipe the chocolate and then the mousse into them.
We used cordial glasses, espresso cups and sake cups. Anything will work, as long as the opening isn’t too wide.
STEP III: FILL THE PIZZELLE CONES WITH STRAWBERRY MOUSSE
NOTE: Fill the mini Pizzelle Cones right before you plan on serving them. If you fill them too far head, the cones will become soggy.
1. When the Strawberry Mousse is cold enough to pipe, give it a few turns with a wire whisk to loosen it.
Then place some in a disposable piping bag, fitted with a large open-star tip, such as an Ateco 824.
2. Pipe the mousse into the cones in a spiral pattern, as if you were icing a cupcake.
3. Place the filled cone back into the small glass or its holder and into the refrigerator. Then fill another. Continue in this manner, until you have as many cones filled as you need.
4. Re-melt the chocolate in the squeeze bottle by zapping it, in 15 second intervals, in the microwave.
When melted, squeeze some of the chocolate over the mousse, then top the mousse with a sixlet.
5. Place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to set.
SERVE
It is best to serve the cones very soon after they are filled, but you may keep the filled cones up to 2 hours in the refrigerator. After that, the cones will lose their crispness.
STORAGE
The unfilled Mini-Pizzelle Cones can be made 3 – 4 days ahead. Store them in an air-tight lidded container, at room temperature.
The Strawberry Mousse can be made 2 days ahead. When you are ready to fill the cones, give the mousse a few turns with a whisk to loosen it up.
