A Forgotten Retro Cookie Recipe Is Going Viral On Reddit, And After Trying It, I Totally Understand Why
You'll need this special tool, but I promise it's worth it.
If you’ve spent any time on r/Old_Recipes, you know the archive is deep. Between the Jell-O salads, mayonnaise cakes, and mystery casseroles, every now and then I stumble upon a recipe that makes me pause and think, wait…that actually sounds delicious. Enter: Maxine Perry’s Turtle Cookies, a handwritten recipe card posted by a redditor that immediately sent the vintage cookbook side of my brain into full excitement mode.
I collect old cookbooks, so recreating forgotten recipes is truly my love language. One of my favorite afternoon activities is browsing these old books or r/Old_Recipes, and when I saw these cookies, they felt like the perfect intersection of quirky food history and nostalgic holiday baking, so I decided to make them!
And let me just say: I don’t know who Maxine Perry is, but dang, she was onto something!
Despite the name, this is not a traditional caramel-pecan “turtle” situation that comes in tins at the grocery store. These are actually fudgy, brownie-esque cookies made in a waffle iron, topped with a glossy, silky chocolate glaze. To make them more like classic turtle cookies, you can add pecan pieces, but I decided to follow the original poster's suggestion and omit the pecans.
As for the history of the cookie, I could not find any historically documented "original" version of "waffle-iron turtle cookies" that predates the dozens of blog and recipe-site variations online, but the original poster says this recipe comes from her mom's "Jaycees cookbook from the '70s," which seems to be one of those classic community cookbooks made by churches or Junior Leagues.
Here's how to make them!
STEP 1: Preheat the waffle iron. Tip: Use an old-fashioned one for more small pockets (which is better for the glaze) or a Belgian waffle iron for fewer, larger pockets.
STEP 2: Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a pot over low heat. Stir in the sugar, then remove the pan from the heat and let it cool slightly. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and salt.
STEP 3: Stir the flour and chocolate chips into the pot to create a thick batter.
STEP 4: Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto the hot waffle iron using a cookie scoop. Leave space between cookies and don’t smooth the edges — you want them a little raggedy, like a turtle. Close the iron and cook 45–60 seconds. Don’t overcook them; they should stay fudgy. When they're done, lift them gently with a fork and place them on a wire rack to cool.
STEP 5: Next, make the glaze. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the chopped chocolate until smooth. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch into the milk until dissolved, then add it to the chocolate mixture. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of pudding. Remove from the heat and stir in salt and vanilla.
STEP 6: Spoon a generous amount of glaze over each cooled cookie. The glaze will set quickly, but to speed things up, you can briefly refrigerate the cookies.
On their own, the brownies are fine. Not bad, but not anything you’d write Reddit about. What makes these special is the glaze, which, to me, is more of a silky frosting. The soft, warm glaze melts slightly into the crunchy cookie base, falling into the divots of the waffle shape. Once set, the glaze becomes a creamy, fudge-like layer that tastes like the inside of a really good truffle. Every redditor who tried it said the same thing: Do not skip the glaze, and I would agree!
All in all, I say these deserve a spot on every holiday cookie plate this year. Perhaps top them with holiday sprinkles and take them to parties, cookie swaps, or use them as Santa bribery!
Do you have a tried-and-true vintage cookie recipe for the holidays? I'd love to hear all about 'em in the comments!
For more cookie recipes you'll want to make all December long (and beyond), download the free Tasty app — no subscription required.
