Will it Waffle: Cookie Dough

I'll cut to the chase on this.

Yes, I waffle anything and everything.  Usually leftovers.  I think it is the best way ever to transform day-old foods.

Since discovering my obsession passion, people constantly ask me about waffling all sorts of things.  I love to engage in these discussions, and run experiments.  I get a kick out of it, and have a lot of fun trying crazy things.  I often have unexpected success.  Or hilarious disasters.  Either way, I have fun.

People often don't grasp however that I really use the waffle iron more as a way to reheat foods than to truly "cook", or certainly not to add ingredients to waffle batter.  I rarely use raw ingredients ( although I've made quesadillas in it before).   I certainly don't try to actually bake in it.

Waffle Iron Baked Cookies.

Eventually, someone asked me to cook cookies in the waffle iron.  Starting with raw dough.  They even provided me the dough.  So ... I had to do it, even though this is actually one that lots of people on the internet do.  Others have been blogging about it for years.  I didn't start here though.  It came late in my waffling "career".

And, unlike the masses on the internet, I don't recommend it.  I evangelize waffle iron cooking, but, not for cookies.  It just isn't better that way.

So, Cookie Dough: Will it Waffle?  Yes, but, just bake your cookies.

Raw Dough.

I started with raw dough, provided by the person who suggested this experiment.  He even formed the dough into balls, and brought it to me ready to go.

Ready to Go!

I set the waffle iron to 370°, the regular baking temperature for the cookies, and inserted a ball into each slot.  I pressed down the lid.

Cookies Baking. 

The cookies baked easily.  And quickly.  They were ready in mere minutes, shorter than regular baking time.  They extracted with no problem.

From an ease of waffling perspective, yes, cookie dough waffles like a charm.

Cookie-Waffle.

The result was ... easily identifiable as a waffle.  It looked like any old chocolate chip waffle, actually.

It was crispy on the outside, cooked through properly.

But ... it was just boring.  It didn't rise as well as a cookie baked in the oven.  It wasn't bad, but waffling it didn't enhance anything, it only took away.  I see no real point in cooking cookies this way.

Side note: I do think this technique would work great for ice cream sandwiches, since a waffle-cookie is harder than a regular one, and would hold up to the ice cream better than a traditional cookie.