Can I mimic pizelle or krumkake wafer cookie texture without using a separate "maker" or gadget?

Pizelles are worth the minor cost of a press. I make them all year round. They are absolutely delicious, especially alongside coffee. They’re not too sweet, but oh, so easy to eat!

You can use an electric griddle or a stovetop griddle, along with a “grill press” tool (lookup online if you’re not familiar with this item) but it is usually made of cast iron n heavy in weight n basically it’s a little tool that’s used to weigh your meat down, as it’s being cooked for all over even cooking n commonly used on bacon strips to avoid the natural curling, as it cooks, to prevent uneven cooking (if you’ve ever been to a Waffle House, you may have noticed it on their big griddle they cook on, its always set on top of cooking bacon) Wow...I could’ve stopped 5 min ago with the cliff note on the grill press😐, sorry about that but yes..this concept will work bc the Grill press provides a very similar cooking method to a Pizzelle maker by holding it firm in place n it provides heat to top n bottom since the cookies are thin n the gril press heats up to the stoves temperature...so basically u have all the makings of a Pizzelle without the design n basic form of the shape ...so yours may turn out looking like horrible uneven circles ..but who cares...it’ll taste just like the original Pizzelle 💃🏻😬 Yummy!
FYI-I’m in a hurry n can’t check for spell check so, my apologies in advance if unacceptable or down right silly words took the place, of what was meant to be..

Yes, you can. Use an oven @ 350 and two silpat's scale out your dough and place between two sheet trays top and bottom with silpat on either side times will vary per your oven so test 1 or 2 before you devote the whole tray.

I was going to argue that, although a pizzelle maker heats both sides of the cookie simultaneously, other than forming the pattern there is no reason I can think of that it has to be so. But then I figured, I'm a little hungry, let's find out for sure if I'm right or wrong. I have no problem (begrudgingly) admitting when I'm wrong. But this isn't one of those rare times. [Wink]

I fired up my pizzelle maker, prepped a batch of batter and cooked off a half-dozen pizzelle. Meanwhile I set the oven to 375F then went looking for my Pyrex pie plate. Oh bother, it hasn’t made its way back home yet after Thanksgiving. No matter, any clear glass dish with a flat bottom and large enough diameter will suffice. As proposed, I set a sheet of parchment down on my board, dished a scoop of batter and covered it with a piece of plastic wrap. Prest-o change-o, peel back the plastic, slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and into the oven she goes. The top didn't brown as quickly as the bottom (could that be remedied with the broiler?) so I flipped it and let it finish.

Results: Surprisingly similar -- same taste of course but also the same size and finished thickness. What the ersatz pizzella lacked was to be expected -- the texture of the patterned cookie. But they were so close that you had to have them side-by-side to know the difference.

So there you go, Raquelita, no $50 press needed, not even a modification to the recipe required.

I make a lot of pizzelle, and I'm going to have to say probably not. The iron heats the batter from both sides- making the cookies both crispy and giving them beautiful indentation.
Pizzelle batter is not at all like a corn tortilla. It is an extremely soft batter, consisting of a high quantity of eggs and melted butter, which gives the cookie its crisp exterior. Chef Ono, I think your suggestion would lead to significant spread in the cookie and would not guarantee crispiness. I have tried a flat iron panini press, and that works- but what you will actually create is a crispy sheet. You can attempt to cut that sheet down with kitchen sheers or very sharp cookie cutters. I've done it, but it isn't optimal. Keep in mind that the panini press will not get as hot as a traditional pizzelle iron.

You could try the technique I use to make corn tortillas without a specialty tool, i.e. a clear glass pie plate. You might have to add a little more flour to a standard recipe (or not) but you should be able to press the dough / batter between a layer of parchment and plastic wrap. Peel back the wrap, slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and bake until GB&D.

The batter has to be heated on both sides at once. Maybe you could heat two frying pans and pour the batter into one and place the other, bottom side down, on top of the batter. The would both have to be greased. I wouldn't use cast iron as the top pan as it's too heavy, but something like All Clad pans might work.

not sure, but wondering whether a griddle or grilled cheese maker would work