Waffles –or– Overcoming Fear of Electricity

Sometimes you have to eat waffles for breakfast AND dinner. Like yesterday!

Husband's vintage waffle iron has been sitting unused for more than a decade. Why? Because I didn't have a decent waffle recipe. And because I'm really afraid of his vintage waffle iron. I don't like that the electrical wiring is visible and situated so close to non-removable parts that require washing. Water is an excellent conductor of electricity, as you know. I am aware that "technically" I won't be electrocuted while washing the waffle iron as long as it's not plugged in, and I know it's not plugged in because I checked it 50 times, and there isn't even an electrical outlet near the sink. BUT STILL, my mental danger bells keep ringing so loudly, over and over again, that I don't even feel like making homemade waffles anymore I have such a headache.

But all that changed thanks to one recipe. And it came from a book that I think you should know about, The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making by Alana Chernila. I'll be raffling off a copy this week, so stay tuned. I made the waffles for breakfast on Sunday morning, slathered them with butter, moistened them with just a bit of maple syrup, then piled strawberries and blueberries that we picked at Carver Hill Orchard on top along with some fresh whipped cream. Holy crap were they ever good. So good, in fact, that when we got back from the Red Sox game and I didn't want to make dinner, we just reheated the leftovers and had them AGAIN.

Take that, Danger Bells, it's double waffle time!!!

Waffles (print-friendly version)

Feel free to sub in half whole wheat flour if you like.

2 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk, warmed
1 cup whole milk, warmed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 200°F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, melted butter, buttermilk, milk, and vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another medium bowl, whip the egg whites several minutes with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks that droop slightly when the beaters are lifted.

Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Stir in a big spoonful of beaten egg whites until incorporated. Then, with a flexible spatula, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Grease the waffle iron either with cooking spray or brush with oil. Scoop 1/2 to 2/3 cup of batter into the hot iron. Cook according to the manufacturer's instructions or until golden and crispy on the outside. Keep warm in a single layer on a sheet pan in the oven until ready to serve. Top with butter and maple syrup, or whatever fresh fruit is in season. Jam is also acceptable. Whipped cream doesn't hurt, either.

Source: Adapted from The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making by Alana Chernila

Local Ingredients:
Eggs: Eric's Eggs, Starksboro, VT
Butter: Cabot, Cabot, VT
Buttermilk: Kate's Homemade Butter, Old Orchard Beach, ME
Milk, cream: High Lawn Farm, Lee, MA
Berries: Carver Hill Orchard, Stow, MA

Comments

[Susanna Baird]

I need to come up with a comment other than "yum."

[Husband]

Don't forget the wonderful man who cooked up the bacon!!

[cindy]

ok, so you've officially inspired me to make waffles for dinner tonight! Eliza will thank you!

cindy

[cindy]

Just a quick followup. Eliza says a double thank you! Waffles for dinner last night and leftovers for breakfast. And she made them - i read the recipe, and she did all of the work (except for the egg separating...that was a bit tough for her). Anyway, thanks!

[Gail]

PYO blueberries are in already? You don't say...

[MacCruiskeen]

I use an early 1950s-vintage Sunbeam W-2 waffle iron, and it makes great waffles. It's large and in charge, for sure. I always plug it into a power strip with a circuit breaker, I do admit. However, I've owned it about 7 years now, and the only time I've washed it was when I bought it to clean off the old gunk that was on it. Now I just brush the crumbs out (I don't use spray or oil, the waffles just don't stick to it) and put it away.

And real waffles are yeast-risen.

[Colleen]

In the past week I've made strawberry jam for the first time in my life (I've always been intimidated by the water bath method of canning--don't ask me why), and goat's milk yogurt using milk from a goat farm just down the road. So when I saw the title of the cookbook you'll be raffling this week, I started waving my arm in the air like an over-excited grade schooler: "Pick me! Pick me!" I desperately want a copy, but my husband is getting a little tired of how much our cookbook expenses have increased since I started reading your blog!

[andrea]

Are you kidding me?! I just gave away my waffle maker to my dad since I haven't found even a halfway decent recipe in years! I've tried so many and I usually end up with waffle batter oozing out of the iron and way more clean up than I'd like. The longer it takes to clean the iron, the more chances for one to think they'll electrocute themselves. I wonder if he'd give it back...

[Sheila]

LOL - that story took me back, my dad's waffle iron STILL looks like that, and is still going! (I'm 46) On top of that, if you over-filled, the half-baked waffle goo would spill out all over the place, there were troughs around the waffle we called "airplanes" but then goo outside the airplanes! Too funny. As a tip: Waffles are FANTASTIC for dinner with a little smoked salmon or fresh baby shrimp in white cream sauce on them. Yummy.

I would say that I will never make Ketchup or Butter. I made butter once, in Australia, and it was fun, but really - the cubes are just fine, thanks. I WANT to make ketchup, because I haven't found a good no-sugar brand anywhere, and it makes me nuts that they put sugar in ketchup - but a bottle of ketchup must last in my fridge for approximately a quarter century, so it's probably never going to be home made and perishable. I would try mozzerella and yougurt though!

[Fish Sauce Hater]

You want waffles that will change your life? Try these (you'll have to scroll down a bit to the Marion Cunningham recipe):

http://orangette.blogspot.com/2010/05/you-deserve-waffle.html