I’ve had my mom’s pizzelle maker in my basement for almost a year now. I thought at some point I could hack it to make my own waffle cones. When I finally dragged it upstairs for that task, I realized that these would be the smallest waffle cones in the entire world. “Oh, well,” I thought, ready to pack it in.
But then I remembered tuile cookies and thought perhaps I could do something magical. I grabbed my rolling pin out of the drawer and draped a hot wafer over it, cupping it gently around the form. A minute later, I had what appeared to be a taco shell. I was ecstatic at this discovery.
I imagined endless possibilities of waffle tacos, with spices and extracts to compliment whatever flavor of ice cream would grace its insides. (I stopped at chocolate and vanilla because, really, I could have let things get really out of hand.) And surely a waffle cone taco is more practical for sundaes than a cone. It’s a sundae boat you can eat. Perfect.
I know about Choco Tacos, although I’ve never actually eaten one. But the ease of making my own waffle cone taco at home shocked me. It took me less than 10 minutes to mix up the batter, and less than 5 minutes to prepare two shells. I sent a message to my husband, who clearly needed to know about this discovery while he was at work.
When he arrived home, waffle cone taco shells were scattered all over the counter. “Make me something glorious,” he requested. I asked what kinds of toppings he wanted in his waffle taco. After all, we had dulce de leche, cookies & cream ice cream, peanuts, whipped cream, and any number of other toppings. He asked for cookies & cream ice cream in a chocolate taco. That’s it. Easy enough; I scooped him a taco and left him to his business.
I came into the living room moments later to see him looking sheepish and uncomfortable. He mumbled, “I bi’ off too mu’h,” through a mouthful of ice cream, his hand perched near his mouth, holding the other half of the ice cream taco. I just shook my head. Some people just can’t handle their ice cream tacos.
WAFFLE CONE TACOS
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ tsp coffee extract (optional)
- Preheat a pizelle iron according to your manufacturer’s instructions (my pizelle iron only has one heat setting).
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth (including cocoa powder and coffee extract if you’re making the chocolate version).
- Brush your pizzelle iron lightly with vegetable or canola oil. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter onto each pizelle mold, then close the pizzelle maker. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the cones are golden brown.
- Carefully remove with a fork and drape each wafer over a wooden rolling pin or dowel. When the wafers have cooled down just enough that you can touch them without burning yourself, press the sides around the rolling pin/dowel until the wafer cools, to ensure a cupped shape. When cool and hardened, remove from the dowel and set aside.
- Repeat with remaining batter. Use immediately or store in an airtight container for a couple days. (If it is particularly humid, the waffle tacos may lose their shape a bit, and then you can just eat them like a cookie.)
- If you are picky like me, you can trim any uneven edges with a pair of scissors to create perfect circles. Pizzelle makers already create the ring around the edge that will act as a guide!
