Yankee’s Crisp-Chewy Waffle Iron Brownies
This recipe for waffle iron brownies is so clever that we’re wondering why it ever got lost. The outside stays crispy while the inside remains fudgy. Yum!
By Yankee Magazine|Apr 26 2022|
Waffle Iron Brownies
Photo Credit: Heath RobbinsThis waffle iron brownies recipe first ran in a 1953 issue of Yankee, appearing in a story called “Recipes from Old ‘Receipt’ Books” by Nancy Dixon. It begins, “One of the nicest things that happens to us in the Yankee Recipe Department is when we receive really and truly fascinating cookbooks that also serve a worthy cause. Our latest acquisition is Two Hundred Years of Lebanon Valley Cookery … The book–with a scrubbed white cover with an easy-to-handle blue spiral binding–is by the Ladies Guild Church of Our Savior (Episcopal) in Lebanon Springs, N.Y., and the cookery editor has rightfully starred some of the following as unusual, ancient, and modern.”
This recipe for waffle iron brownies is so clever that we’re wondering why it ever got lost. The waffle iron gives the brownies crispy ridges, but the inside remains rich and fudgy. They’re novel and fun and incredibly easy to make.
Note: You need to let the brownies sit for a minute on the hot, opened iron before trying to remove them. Otherwise they’ll be too soft and likely to crumble.
Yield:
10 to 12 brownies
Ingredients
1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened (baker’s) chocolate, melted
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Vegetable oil for waffle iron
Garnish: powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat your waffle iron. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each. Add melted chocolate and vanilla and stir.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to chocolate mixture and stir just until evenly combined.
When the waffle iron is ready, spray or brush with neutral vegetable oil, such as canola. Drop a heaping tablespoonful of batter into the center of each grid on your iron. Close the lid and cook until the brownies are crisp and dry on the outside, 4 to 6 minutes, depending on the iron (check after 4 minutes). Open the waffle iron and let brownies sit for 1 to 2 minutes, until firm enough to remove (don’t skip this step). Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Repeat with remaining batter.
This recipe sounds excellent for summer, when you need to bring a dessert but don’t want to heat your oven in the heat. Can’t wait to try it.
This would make a wonderful Ice Cream Sandwich
Great minds!! ????
This sounds like it might take at least 8 minutes to make 2 brownies? ( Maybe with tablespoonsfull we could fit more than 1 on a single hot plate, or more than 1 on each side of a double – ya think? ( They will spread out a bit..)
Now I’m wondering how to make an approximation of these without a waffle iron.
Hi Mary Lou. We developed this recipe specifically for use with a waffle iron. If you will be baking a traditional pan of brownies, this recipe is a favorite of our Senior Food Editor. https://newengland.com/today/food/best-ever-brownies-step-step-recipe/ Happy baking!
I just tried these and enjoyed the result, but will add these thoughts: the “batter” is definitely a cookie dough and after several tries with a scoop in each quarter of the iron, I finally put a large glob in the center of the iron and the result was much better. My first waffle was very dry and crisp after 4 minutes, so I reduced the time to 3 and that worked to produce the brownie as described. What I’d love to figure out is how to make them a bit more moist. To remove from the iron it is very important to follow the directions and let them sit until nearly cool. They will indeed fall apart otherwise. Always keep in mind that iron temperatures, sizes and shapes can vary, so experiment with all aspects of this recipe.
Well, it definitely did not work in my Sunbeam waffle iron. Once we scraped the cooked batter out and it dried, it was great. We finished the rest if the batter in the microwave.