When it comes to weddings, cakes are clearly the dessert of choice, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have other sweets too. Such occasions can be personalized in order to cater to the desires of the bride and groom. I once went to a wedding in the hills outside of Rome that had – instead of a cake – a giant fruit pizza. Maybe this seems out of the ordinary and frankly a little too “Italian” for non-Italians, however each bride and groom is entitled to have the desserts of their liking. Cookies, for example, can make the offering of wedding sweets unique and very personalized. They are easy to serve and delicate, and can be served as part of a dessert buffet.
In the southern region of Abruzzo it is traditional to make pizzelle for weddings. There are actually many different names for this thin waffle cookie cooked in a hot iron press: ferratelle, cancelle, nuvole, nevole, neole. Whatever the name, they are generally flavored with lemon zest or sometimes anice. According to tradition when making these cookies with the iron press over an open flame, the chef recited the “Our Father” as one side of the cookie was heated. Then the press would be flipped and he or she would recite the “Hail Mary” in order to finish the process.