Belgian Waffle Cookies Recipe

Is that waffle iron just sitting and collecting dust in your cabinets? If so, put it to good use with this Belgian waffle cookies recipe, brought to us by recipe developer Jessica Morone. This recipe is a great way to make use of a waffle iron without making plain old waffles for the hundredth time, and the end result is a sweet treat that will switch things up from your typical chocolate chip cookie.

Morone can't help but highlight the flavor and texture balance that these cookies manage to achieve. "These cookies are so flavorful and delicious. They are a little sweet, but not too sweet. They are crispy and taste like a waffle without having to add anything to them," she says. But be warned — you might not be able to stop eating these delightful little treats. "I think I ate four of them right after they came out of the waffle iron," Morone says.

Prepare to reach for a few pantry staples to round out this ingredients list: flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and maple extract. 

"The maple extract in these is the special ingredient," Morone says, explaining that you get lots of flavor using just a small amount of this stuff. "The maple extract in these really makes it taste like a waffle. If you don't have maple extract you can use pure maple syrup, but I highly recommend getting the extract because just syrup won't give you as much flavor."

Aside from the pantry ingredients, you'll need just two fridge staples to round out the cookies — eggs and room-temperature butter.

Turn your waffle iron on and allow it to heat up as you make the batter. Grab a medium-sized bowl and add in the flour, baking powder, and salt, whisking to combine. Into a separate large bowl add the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, and use a hand mixer to cream these ingredients together until light and fluffy. Mix the eggs, vanilla extract, and maple extract into the butter bowl, then pour the flour ingredients into the bowl, mixing until just combined to form a cohesive batter.

Use a cookie scoop (or similarly-sized spoon) to scoop batter into the waffle iron, ensuring your scoops are small enough so that the batter doesn't fuse together once you press down. Once you've got four scoops in there, close the iron's lid and allow the cookies to bake for 3 to 4 minutes. You'll know that they're ready when you lift the lid and you have four beautiful, golden cookies.

Remove the finished cookies with tongs and set them aside. The cookies will be quite soft while they're still hot from the iron, but fear not, they'll crisp up nicely as they cool. Repeat the cookie-making process until you've used up all of the batter. You should be able to make about 18 cookies.

Once the cookies have had a chance to cool slightly (just enough to form that crispy layer on the outside), you can enjoy these sweet waffle-like confections. "These don't need any toppings, you can just eat them right after they are baked," Morone says, adding, "They are really good that way." 

For those who tend to go all-out with their waffles, however, you may have the same inclination with a Belgian waffle cookie. "If you want to add something you could do powdered sugar, or dip them in chocolate and add things like sprinkles or nuts," Morone suggests.