Trubochki

1. Mix the eggs and sugar until they are pale yellow and fluffy, about 5 minutes. You can use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer.
2. Add the melted and cooled butter and the vanilla extract. Mix until evenly combined.
3. Then, add the flour and salt and mix just until the flour is incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, to make sure that the flour is all incorporated and the batter is evenly mixed.
4. You can bake the Trubochki right away, or make up to a day in advance and store in the refrigerator. The batter will get thicker the longer than it stands and when chilled.
5. Heat up the pizzelle baker.
6. Using a portion scoop or two spoons, place about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of batter slightly behind the center of each pizzelle design. The batter will spread forward as it bakes. Bake for a few minutes, just until the pizzelles are slightly golden.
7. You can also place the batter in a large pastry bag and pipe out the batter onto the pizzelle iron that way.
8. If the 2 pizzelles fuse together as the batter spreads and they are baking, use a butter knife to gently separate them.
9. As soon as you take the Trubochki off the pizzelle baker, immediately wrap the hot Trubochki around a clean marker. You won’t be able to shape them into a cylinder if they cool even a little bit, so work really fast. You don’t need to use a marker; you can use anything that will create a cylinder out of the Trubochki, but markers are really convenient and create the perfect opening for the filling.
10. Repeat with all the batter. I usually get about 35-40 Trubochki.
11. You can make the Trubochki up to 5 days in advance. Store them at room temperature, in a loosely covered box, baking pan or container, so that they stay crisp. If you cover them with plastic wrap, they will soften.
12. Fill the Trubochki with the Dulce De Leche Filling or the Cream Cheese Filling. Both fillings can be made 1-3 days in advance.

Dulce De Leche Filling

1. For the filling, mix the cream cheese and butter until they are evenly mixed and smooth. You can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer.
2. Add the dulce de leche and vanilla extract, mixing again until the filling is evenly mixed.
3. For the best results, chill the filling for at least one hour before filling the Trubochki. You can also make the filling a few days in advance. Store in the refrigerator. It’s a good idea to fluff up the filling with a mixer one more time if you made it in advance, just before filling the Trubochki.

Cream Cheese Filling

1. Mix the cream cheese until smooth using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or hand mixer.
2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, according to your taste preference, more or less depending on how sweet you want the filling to be. (You can use powdered sugar instead of the sweetened condensed milk.)
3. Lastly, add the Cool Whip or whip up the heavy cream separately and then fold in to the cream cheese filling.
4. For the best results, chill the filling in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before filling the Trubochki.

Filling the Trubochki

1. Place the filling into a large pastry bag fitted with a pastry tip – my favorite one to use is the Wilton 1M.
2. Fill the opening of all the Trubochki with the filling. To make sure that the filling reaches all the way to the center of the pastry, insert the piping tip into the opening of the Trubochki, press the filling inside and keep holding it until you see that the filling is at least halfway or more inside the pastry, then fill the other side with filling too.
3. For the best results, don’t fill the Trubochki until 30-60 minutes before serving them, so that they stay crisp. If you fill them earlier than that, they will soften. They will still taste great and won’t fall apart at all, but that’s something to keep in mind.