Play with your food

Waffles. I used to think that no one loved waffles as much as Reese. And then I read a feature in Newsday about Daniel Shumski and his cookbook, Will It Waffle?

"Shumski, the creator of waffleizer.com, started a blog about all things waffle. Has has developed 53 recipes for everything from pizza to filet mignon, all cooked on the countertop in his waffle iron."

What?!! Yep, you read that right. He cooks EVERYTHING in his waffle iron. 

When I told Reese this, she smiled at the fantasy of breakfast, lunch and dinner a la waffle maker. When I showed her a cookie recipe we could try, she was cheering to high heaven!

The ingredients were easy to gather and the recipe was super easy to follow.

 Cooking times will vary according to waffle makers and your definition of "heaping". Play around to find your best cookie time. You won't be disappointed.

It's a funny experience eating a waffle cookie. It looks like a waffle, it has the same texture like a waffle but the taste inside is all cookie:-) Enjoy!!

Waffled Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip Cookies
"Will It Waffle?" (Workman Publishing, $14.95)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup mini-chocolate chips
Nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat waffle iron on medium. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric hand mixer until mostly smooth.

2. Add eggs and vanilla; continue beating until they're fully incorporated.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until few streaks of flour remain. Add the oats and chocolate chips and stir to combine.

4. Coat boat sides of the waffle-iron grid with nonstick spray. Place a heaping tablespoon of dough onto each waffle section, allowing room for the cookies to spread.

Close the lid and cook until the cookies are set and beginning to brown. This won't take long - 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the heat of your waffle iron.

(We recommend doing some testing with cooking times. Our first batch burned at 2 minutes but our best batch cooked at just a little over 1 minute.)

 The cookie should be soft when you remove them and will firm up as they cool. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

5. Repeat step 4 until all batter has been waffled. Makes about 20 cookies.

To always have waffle-able cookies on hand, form dough into balls, place them on a tray to freeze and, once frozen, transfer to a zip-top bag. Frozen dough can go right onto the waffle iron (just add another minute to the cooking time.)