The Sweet Wrapper You Should Use For Breakfast Sushi

Whether you're looking to up your brunch game or entice picky eaters to dig into their morning meal, breakfast sushi is the way to go. We're not talking about kicking off the day with nori and rice-wrapped fish, though. Instead, the filling for this dish can be a combination of colorful fruits and creamy spreads all rolled up in a sweet wrapper that you may not have considered turning into a breakfast treat: the humble pizzelle.

Pizzelle are thin and delicate Italian cookies made with a handful of simple ingredients. While they are typically crispy once cooled, they're warm and soft when they come off the waffle-maker-style press they're cooked on. It's at that initial stage, when they're still tender (yet cooled just slightly to be safe to handle), that you'll want to craft the breakfast sushi. Simply add fillings like whipped cream, sweetened cream cheese, or even some upgraded canned frosting and top it with chopped fruits. Then roll it up tightly, just like traditional sushi, and smear a bit of cream cheese on the edge to secure it closed before slicing it into pieces.

Unless you want to use them, no chopsticks are needed for serving this sushi — it can be a handheld bite of breakfast goodness. But if you want to jazz it up, you can serve it alongside yogurt, homemade whipped cream, honey, or syrup. Or, whip up a quick and easy two-ingredient fruit dip.

While it only takes eggs, flour, sugar, butter, and baking powder to whip up the batter for pizzelle, you can save time making this recipe by using a store-bought pancake mix. Whether you make it from scratch or use a prepared product, you can easily channel the flavors of traditional pizzelle with the addition of extracts like vanilla or almond or add in some anise seeds. Or, give it your own creative twist — try a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg in the fall or add a little brightness with a splash of citrus. For a little seasonal flair, you can also adjust the color of the cookies with natural food dyes.

When you're making the pizzelle, consider allowing the batter to spread across the entire surface of the press instead of making individual round cookies. This way, you can make the wrappers more quickly and create a larger area to spread your fillings on once it has cooked. And if you don't have a pizzelle iron you're not out of luck — you can also bake the cookies. While they won't have the signature designs of the classic cookie, it may be easier to make a big batch all at once. But to make sure that they cook evenly and maintain a similar structure, rotate your trays halfway through and — voilà! — you're ready to make breakfast sushi with your oven-baked pizzelle dupe.