With this easy waffle cone recipe, you can learn how to make homemade waffle cones and waffle bowls! Make them simple, or make them fancy (like chocolate-dipped with sprinkles or sugar). Either way, they’re the perfect compliment to your favorite ice cream!
Look at this gorgeous chocolate-dipped sprinkled waffle cone! Wouldn’t you just love to bite into this?
How to Make Waffle Cones with a Waffle Cone Maker
Step one: Purchase a waffle cone maker. I suggest the Brentwood Appliances Waffle Cone Maker. It is a different brand than mine, but has gotten great reviews. It also has a temperature regulator, which mine does not, so it is probably superior to the one I own. At any rate, a waffle cone maker will come with a waffle cone shaper, as you see in the picture.
Yes, you will need a specialized waffle cone maker with a cone shape mold. You can find several to choose from on Amazon.
Step two: Make your batter. At the end of this post you will find a recipe for classic vanilla cones.
Step three. Turn on your waffle iron. It should heat up very quickly. Spray both the top and bottom lightly with cooking spray right before adding the batter. You may need to spray the waffle iron each time you make a waffle. (I sprayed mine about every-other time).
You want to make sure your waffle doesn’t stick! Give both the top and bottom plates a good squirt of non-stick spray.
Step four: Scoop up the perfect amount of batter using a large cookie scoop and place it in the center of the waffle iron. (The cookie scoop I used equals about two tablespoons of batter).
Use a large cookie scoop to perfectly scoop your waffle cone batter.
Step five: Close the lid, making sure it latches in front. (My latch wouldn’t stay latched, so I had to hold my lid down making sure to use a towel so I wouldn’t get burned by the steam. Hopefully your waffle maker will work better than mine). It will take some experimentation on the timing, but start checking after 30 seconds to see if your waffle is done. It should look like this:
You want your waffle to be golden brown. Make sure not to over-bake!
Step six: Using a large spatula, remove the cooked waffle from the iron and place on a clean kitchen towel. Have your cone shaper nearby, because you need to use it right away.
Step seven: Using the dish towel to lift the waffle (so you don’t burn yourself) begin rolling the cone around the waffle cone form. I always put the point of the mold about half-an-inch up from the bottom edge of the waffle. This helps to minimize the hole at the bottom of the cone while you are rolling.
Roll your hot waffle around the cone shaper/mold using a kitchen towel to protect you from the heat.
Step eight: Keep rolling the waffle and the mold, removing the towel as you go, until you have completely rolled the waffle around the mold. Then hold it there for a few seconds to give it time to harden and keep its shape.
Hold and press your warm waffle around the mold for a few seconds until it sets.
There you have it! The perfect cone!
You can place your hot cones on a wire rack to cool, or just set them down on a clean kitchen towel, paper towel, or baking sheet.
How to Make Waffle Cone Bowls
Making bowls is even easier. First, get out whatever you want to be your mold. I just used a plastic container, but any kind of small bowl will do.
To make a waffle bowl, get a moderately small plastic container (a food storage container works well).
As soon as you remove your waffle from the waffle iron, place it over the top of your mold.
Lay the warm waffle atop the plastic container as soon as taking it from the waffle maker.
Then using your towel for protection, gently wrap your hands around the waffle, pressing it down on the sides of the mold. You can see a little bit of the waffle peeking out here.
Lay a kitchen towel over the top to protect you from the heat. Then press down around the sides to form the waffle into a “bowl.”
Hold for a few seconds, then gently unwrap and let the bowl sit a few more seconds atop the mold to harden.
If you want to make things even easier, you can purchase the BELLA Waffle Bowl Maker
from Amazon.
Remove the towel and let the waffle sit for a couple minutes to set up and harden.
And there you have it! Although making homemade cones takes some trial and error, it is worth it for the wonderful flavor and crunch they give as they cradle your homemade ice cream. (Be sure to check out all the amazing ice cream recipes I have on here!)
Note: The amount of sugar in your batter will affect how brown your waffles get. The recipe I have below should give you nice golden waffles.
Store your waffle cones and bowls in an airtight container or plastic bag.
NOW, if you really want to jazz things up, you can roll these in chocolate and add sprinkles or sugar or crushed Oreos or all kinds of stuff!
There’s no reason your waffle cones can’t rival those you find in upscale ice cream shops!
How to Make Your Own Waffle Cones and Bowls
How to Make Chocolate-dipped Waffle Cones
Here’s how I did it:
First, I melted some chocolate chips. Then I spread the melted chocolate out on a sheet of waxed paper. (It is easy to get your waxed paper to stay put if you wipe your counter down with a damp cloth right before you put the paper down). You’re going to want to spread this pretty thick.
Melt chocolate chips, chocolate almond bark, or chocolate candy coating and spread it out on waxed paper.
Then you just start rolling your cone tip and/or top in the chocolate. It is best if you roll your tip first. (Rolling the tip in the chocolate helps seal the little hole at the bottom so that ice cream doesn’t leak out).
As you can see from this picture, I needed to get a little more chocolate in there to seal that hole. But you get the general idea.
Another idea is to pour a little chocolate inside the cone to plug up the bottom.
Roll the tip of the ice cream cone in the chocolate to seal the hole at the bottom and prevent ice cream leakage.
Now I had a bit of trouble photographing myself rolling the top of the cones in the chocolate. But here is what it looked like when I was done.
Roll the top of your cone in the melted chocolate and let harden.
I just love how pretty the chocolate looks. You can leave your cones just like this, or you can go crazy with some sprinkles, like this:
Right after rolling in chocolate, you can add sprinkles, raw sugar, or other decorations.
If you do use sprinkles or sugar (I used Turbinado sugar because it has such big crystals, and it looks all fancy), don’t roll the cones in them. Just hold the cones over a bowl and drop the sprinkles on the chocolate by hand.
Then I just set the cones inside some canning jars to let the chocolate dry.
Alternately, if you can’t stand your cones up in anything, you can gently lay them down on some aluminum foil, waxed paper, or parchment paper to allow the chocolate to dry.
Set the waffle cones upright in jars to allow the chocolate to set up.
It would be so fun to have the basic cones whipped up for a party and then let each guest decorate theirs however they like. It’s an ice cream cone bar! What an amazing treat!
So many beautiful varieties of waffle cones!
Watch the video to learn how you can make waffle cones at home. (If the video below is cropped and you can’t see the bottom, just click on this link to watch it on Facebook).
Also, do yourself a favor and skip ahead to minute 12!
Do you have more questions about how to make and store waffle cones? Scroll down past the recipe for the answers!
Yield: 6 cones
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
With this easy waffle cone recipe, you can learn how to make homemade waffle cones! Make them simple, or make them fancy (like chocolate-dipped with sprinkles or sugar). Either way, they’re the perfect compliment to your homemade ice cream!
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 cup cake flour (can be made with one cup minus two tablespoons replaced with two tablespoons of corn starch)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3-4 Tbsp. water
Instructions
1. Preheat your waffle cone maker.
2. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for one minute.
3. Stir in the oil, salt, and vanilla extract.
4. Add the flour and beat on medium for about 15 seconds until all the lumps are gone.
5. Add the water and blend until incorporated. Batter should be smooth and not too runny.
6. Spray both the top and bottom of your waffle plates with non-stick spray.
7. Using a medium cookie scoop, put one scoop of batter in the center of the waffle iron and close the lid. If necessary, hold the lid down using a towel to protect yourself from steam.
8. After 30 seconds to one minute, lift the lid to see if the waffle is done. It should be very light brown. These waffles burn quickly, so you need to be careful and check early and often.
9. Use a flat, wide spatula to quickly remove the waffle and place it on a kitchen towel.
10. Immediately place the waffle cone mold on the waffle toward the edge and use the towel to lift and roll the cone around the mold.
11. Hold the cone on the mold for a few seconds (about ten) to give the cone a chance to partially dry in its shape. Leave the cone on the mold while you start making the next waffle.
12. Once the next waffle is in the waffle iron, remove the cone from the mold and set to dry and harden on a wire rack.
13. If desired, roll the tops and bottoms of cones in melted chocolate and sprinkle with the edible decorations of your choice.
14. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container for up to five days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 122mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 0gSugar: 17gProtein: 4g
Can I use a regular waffle maker to make waffle cones?
Sorry, but regular waffle irons just won’t work here. The “holes” or “pockets” are too big. You really need your waffles to come out flat, with just a little texture to them. Thus, you need the shallow grid of a dedicated waffle cone iron, and not the deep grids of regular or Belgian waffle irons.
There is also a way to make them without a waffle cone maker by using a frying pan. Of course, you will still need a waffle cone mold to shape the cones. Here is a video showing the technique and giving the recipe.
How much is a waffle cone maker?
On Amazon, they range in price from about $25 (like the Brentwood Appliances Waffle Cone Maker I recommended in this post) to $420 for a commercial-grade model. That’s quite a large price difference! The one I got was about $40.
What’s the difference between a waffle cone and a sugar cone?
Sugar cones are generally more crispy and thick than waffle cones. They’re made with a different kind of batter that contains brown sugar and oat fiber (among other things). They are also flat at the top (instead of curved, like a waffle cone) and are not as wide. They are great for single scoops of ice cream. But if you want multiple scoops of ice cream, along with toppings, you need the higher-capacity waffle cone!
(Ironically, waffle cones typically have more sugar than sugar cones!)
How do you keep waffle cones crispy?
The first key is to let your waffle cones completely cool at room temperature. Don’t stack them while they are cooling, either.
Part of the cooling process is letting the moisture escape. Anything you do to trap the moisture is going to make your cones become soggy.
Once they are completely cool, you can feel free to stack them.
Then for storage, place them inside an airtight bag. If you live in a humid area, you might want to double-protect them by placing the airtight bag inside an airtight plastic container.
How long do waffle cones last?
Homemade waffle cones will last from 2-5 days, depending on how they are store and the humidity in your area.
Should waffle cones be refrigerated?
Nope! This just adds moisture and makes your cones lose their crispness.
Need some homemade ice cream recipes to go in your waffle cones?
Check out all my ice cream recipes here.
Check out all my ice cream toppings and add-ins here.
Choose your favorite to pin!
