BEST Easy Vanilla Waffle Cookies Recipe

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Can I put cookie dough in my waffle maker?

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

5 from 24 votes

Have you ever considered baking cookies in your waffle maker? Now is the time! These Waffle Cookies are an easy vanilla cookie recipe made in your waffle maker.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Yield 26 cookies

Serving Size 1 serving

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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.

Recipe Nutrition

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Author Dorothy Kern

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