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These little waffle cookies are made with vanilla cookie dough and cooked in a waffle iron until they are soft on the inside and crunchy and golden on the outside with a perfectly sweet vanilla taste. These are a favorite cookie recipe of ours – you’re going to love them!
Mini Waffles as Cookies
If you have a waffle iron hiding in your cabinet, you are going to love this cookie recipe. Waffle cookies are easy to make and even easier to eat! You don’t need to turn on the oven for this waffle cookie recipe – the dough cooks in the waffle maker, creating waffle-like vanilla cookies that are golden brown and delicious.
There are different kinds of waffle cookies, and the version I’m sharing was inspired by French and Belgian waffle cookies, which are usually made with a simple vanilla cookie dough. Unlike stroopwafels, these are thick cookies that are soft on the inside. They’re as easy as a regular sugar cookie recipe, but instead of baking them in the oven, you can cook them in a standard waffle iron.
Ingredients Needed
- Baking powder: this makes them nice and soft
- Salt: for flavor, important if using unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour: the best flour for making cookies
- Butter: I always use unsalted butter, make sure it’s softened
- Sugar: I like using granulated sugar in this cookie recipe but light brown sugar may be substituted.
- Egg: make sure to buy large eggs
- Vanilla extract: for flavor, you can mix and match any extract!
Variations
- You can enjoy them plain, but at the very least, I recommend dusting the cooled cookies with powdered sugar. Just make sure they are cooled, so the sugar doesn’t melt.
- After you make the dough, mix in chocolate chips or sprinkles before you cook the cookies.
- Alternately, melt chocolate and dip the cooled cookies in it and then let them set. Feel free to add some sprinkles while the chocolate is wet to add a cute decoration.
- These would also be delicious with a simple caramel drizzle or maple glaze. Or serve them with ice cream or maple syrup to dip in.
How to Make Waffle Cookies
- In a small bowl, whisk the baking powder, salt, and flour.
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- Then add the dry ingredients. Once mixed, the dough will be thick and sticky.
- Scoop one tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Drop it on the hot waffle maker.
- Close the lid, cook the cookies until they are golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack.
Best Waffle Maker for Cookies
You can use any waffle maker you have. The larger the waffle maker, the more cookies you can cook at once. Here are my favorite waffle makers:
- Basic waffle maker, perfect for any recipe
- Cuisinart Griddler + waffle plates, great for washing (and if you already have a Griddler, no need for extra appliances)
- Mini Dash: this is great for single serve, but will take a long time to make all the waffle cookies.
Expert tips
- To make things as easy as possible, be sure to spray your waffle maker with cooking spray so it’s easy to remove the cookies.
- The cookies will be very hot, so I use a fork to transfer the cookies from the waffle iron to the cookie sheet. The fork makes it easy to pull the cookie off the iron without burning yourself. As the cookies cool, they will harden.
- Allow the cookies to cool before adding any powdered sugar, chocolate, or other decorations.
Storage
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container. Once you store them in an airtight container, they will soften again. Soft waffle cookies will keep for up to two days at room temperature.
- To crips up softened cookies, you can reheat the in the toaster.
- Freeze cookies for up to 3 months.
FAQs
You can put pretty much any cookie dough in your waffle maker, including premade refrigerated dough like chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar cookie dough.
Waffle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (186g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Heat a waffle maker to medium-high heat (or 350°F if you have that option). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk baking powder, salt, and flour in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, 1-2 minutes, then mix in eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients into wet and mix until smooth. Dough will be thick like cookie dough but will be sticky.
- Working in batches, drop 1-tablespoon size balls of dough in your waffle maker. If you’re using a standard 7-8-inch waffle maker, you should be able to place 4 cookies at a time (one in each quadrant of the circle). Close waffle maker and cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on heat and size, or until the cookies are golden brown. Use a fork to help you pop them out of the waffle iron (be careful not to burn yourself). Place on cookie sheet to cool.
- Continue making batches of cookies until you’re out of dough. Let cookies cool then dust with powdered sugar.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Cookies will soften as they sit.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Dust with powdered sugar for serving or melt chocolate and dip the cooled cookies instead.
- Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or sprinkles into the batter before cooking for a fun twist.
First let me say, “crazy for crust” has to be my favorite blog name ever! I love to bake, so what a great name! I made these wonderful waffle cookies. Because I was making an assortment of cookies I decided to use almond extract instead of the vanilla for a little change. They came out beautifully and delicious! Thank you for this great recipe… Will be making them again!
I’m wondering if I can freeze these for my daughter’s wedding & once thawed, dip in chocolate or sprinkle with powdered sugar?? Have you even frozen these? Thanks!
I haven’t frozen them – I do know they get soft over time, so if you want them crunchy they probably won’t be. If you dipped them completely in chocolate they’d stay crunchier.
Thank you for the recipe. The taste is yummy but I could not get the cookies to release from the waffle iron. I sprayed the surface with cooking spray each time but no luck. Any suggestions?
How long did you bake them and how high was your waffle iron? I usually only have trouble with release if they are not done baking – or if the iron is not hot enough.
I made these my first time over Halloween and called them Brain Cookies because if you slice Brain open you get them. I know, a little morbid but dealing with the people I dealt with they thought it was fun. And it was. I’m going to make Brain Cookies again for Christmas. Who knows, maybe they will get the joke?
Any way to make these pumpkin waffle cookies….
You could try adding some pumpkin and omitting an egg!
These look so intriguing!! I can’t wait to try.
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