Waffle Cookies (Easy Recipe)

Have you ever had a sweet tooth craving that won’t be ignored? Waffle cookies could be the answer to your prayers. 

These cookies bring together the best of both worlds.

They’re full of crispy golden waffles and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie goodness. 

They aren’t really waffles, of course. But you will make them on a waffle iron, so they have that fun waffle shape and crisp edges. 

Every bite is a taste and texture masterpiece, especially once you coat them in decadent confectioner’s sugar.

They’re almost like miniature funnel cakes. 

Trust me; you’ll love these waffle cookies, whether you’ve had them before or not. 

Waffle Cookies

Waffle cookies have a lot of different names. Some people call them waffle iron cookies or waffle iron sugar cookies.

Others refer to them as Belgian cookies. 

Whatever you call them, they’re the same great cookie.

They’re fun to make and even more fun to eat.

Plus, they come in various flavors and boast a myriad of toppings. Don’t get them confused with stroopwafels, though. 

Though they look similar, these waffle cookies are much easier to make.

If you can make homemade sugar cookies, you can make these. The only real difference is the waffle iron!

Let’s look at what ingredients you’ll need. 

Ingredients 

The first thing you’ll need to make waffle cookies is, you guessed it, a waffle iron!

That’s what gives the cookies their unique appearance and crispy-edged texture. 

Here’s what else you’ll need:

• Butter: I use salted butter and stick strictly to the recipe for all the other ingredients. However, if you use unsalted, you may need to adjust the amount of salt you use. Whichever you choose, be sure it’s softened before you add it to the batter.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar works best in the batter. It gives the cookies their sweetness.
• Eggs: Eggs are standard for just about any cookie recipe. They help hold the dough together and also ensure the cookies are light and chewy.
• Vanilla extract: The extract gives the cookies their warm, rich flavor. However, you could swap out vanilla for almond, rum, or something else. 
• Flour: I recommend using all-purpose flour. It’s easy to work with, and most people always have some of it on hand. 
• Baking powder: Baking powder keeps the cookies soft and tender on the inside. The edges will get slightly crispy from the waffle iron. However, the bulk of the cookie will retain its soft cookie goodness. 
• Salt: The salt adds a bit of extra flavor to the cookies. If you’re using unsalted butter, you may need to add slightly more than the recipe requires. 
• Confectioner’s sugar: You’ll use this to dust the cookies once they’re ready. Some people prefer to cover them in maple syrup or other toppings. 

I’ll cover a few optional ingredients in the waffle cookie variations section below. 

Tips For the Best Waffle Iron Cookies 

Before we get to the variations, let’s look at some tips and tricks.

These will help ensure your waffle cookies turn out as perfect as possible. 

1. Don’t forget to preheat the waffle iron. If you don’t, your first few cookies will take much longer to cook and probably won’t turn out precisely right. 

2. Remember to grease the waffle iron. Greasing the waffle iron may seem like an obvious step. However, it’s one that many people often forget. 

Regular waffles don’t always require a greased waffle iron. Therefore, some people think these cookies don’t either.

If you forget to grease it, though, the cookies will stick and break apart.

3. Don’t spoon out overly large balls of dough. These cookies may look like waffles but aren’t as light and airy. Instead, they’re rich and dense, just like sugar cookies. 

You don’t want to make them too large, or they’ll be too indulgent to eat.

Additionally, they may expand into each other if you make them too big. 

4. Remove the cookies from the iron when they’re still relatively soft. They’ll continue to harden as they cool. If you wait too long to remove them, they’ll get too hard as they cool. 

Lifting them out while they’re still soft makes them easier to move.

It also ensures the cookies are soft and chewy when they’re done.

Waffle Cookie Variations 

These cookies have so many variations, including the batter and the toppings.

For example, you could mix in unsweetened cocoa for chocolate waffle cookies.

Additionally, you could add nuts, chocolate chips, or berries to the uncooked batter. 

Here are a few more variations to try:

• Drizzle them in maple syrup instead of (or in addition to) the confectioner’s sugar.
• Drizzle or dip them into melted chocolate, caramel, or a fruit topping.
• Experiment with the extracts you use for flavoring. You don’t have to stick strictly to vanilla. 
• Add food coloring to the batter to color the cookies.
• Add whipped cream, icing, or sprinkles.
• Make homemade icing from powdered sugar and milk, and dip them in it.
• Add cocoa powder to the batter, but don’t mix it in. This will give the cookies a lovely marbled appearance.
• Dip them in honey or Caro syrup. 
• Mix toffee or butterscotch bits into the pre-cooked dough.
• Dip them in chocolate (or another topping) and then in broken pretzel pieces.