Basic Waffles

This recipe comes from the The All New Joy of Cooking cookbook. My husband always makes these. They come out fabulous. It's one of our favorite 'Breakfast for Dinner' menu items. The recipe gives you the option of using anywhere from 4-16 tablespoons of butter. They say, 4 T for a reduced-fat waffle, 8 T for classic light and fluffy, or 16 T for the "crunchiest most delicious waffle imaginable."

Basic Waffles

Whisk together:
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Whisk together in another bowl:
3 large eggs, well beaten
4-16 T unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 c milk

TIPS and INFO

Is your waffle iron getting hot? Turn that on. We haven't ever made these with unsalted butter, because I don't ever buy it, except at Christmas time for my most special Christmas cookies. Whole milk will give you the best result, but all others, even skim, work just fine.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and gently whisk together in a very few strokes. The batter should have a pebbled look, similar to a muffin batter. You do not have to mix it until it's all smooth. Don't worry. Those lumps will work themselves out. If you wish you may fold in one or more of the following:

1/2 c raisins or finely diced soft dried fruit, fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries, finely chopped/toasted nuts, thinly sliced banana, crumpled cooked bacon, shredded cheese, or 1/4 sweetened dried coconut, or grated semisweet or milk chocolate.

We have never mixed anything additional into our batter, but the book offered those suggestions.

Spoon 1/2 c batter (or the amount recommended by your waffle iron) onto the hot iron. Spread the batter to within 1/4 inch of the edge, close the lid and bake to golden brown. Serve immediately. Or, keep warm in a single layer on a rack in a 200 degree oven while you finish cooking the rest. Serve with maple syrup, butter (yes more butter), jam, fresh fruit, homemade syrup, whipped cream, etc. Oh, did I say homemade syrup? Why...yes I did. Hmmmmm. Do you want that recipe too?

Btw, I love these waffles the next day just toasted in the toaster, buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. I eat them like toast. Of course, all slathered in yumminess is great too!

Buttermilk Syrup

1 c sugar
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 butter
1 tsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, milk, butter and corn syrup in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda.

TIPS and INFO

I got the homemade syrup recipe from one of my sisters, Sara. Thank you Sara. This syrup tastes kind of like melted caramel. You need to make sure you use a pan with plenty of room. The baking soda stirred into the syrup when it's so hot causes a lovely puffing up reaction. I love that part. My kids love that part. It's pretty cool, actually. One other thing...why just 1 tsp corn syrup, you might ask? Especially when you're measuring out 1 tsp of corn syrup. I heard on FoodTV that adding a touch of CS to a recipe like this cushions the granulated sugar just enough that it won't re-crystalize in the recipe. Awesome, huh? Don't leave it out, even though that tiny bit might seem insignificant.

Another easy topping, which I did recently -

Wash and hull fresh strawberries. Cut into bite-size pieces. Stir in some powdered sugar until dissolved. It will create a yummy syrup over your strawberries. Add a squeeze of some citrus. Lemon juice, orange, juice, etc. It helps soften up the strawberries. Also called:

Maceration, also known as macerating in food preparation refers to softening or breaking into pieces with liquid.
Raw, dried or preserved fruit or vegetables are soaked in liquid to soften and to absorb the flavor of the liquid.[1] In the case of fruit, they are often just sprinkled with sugar, then left to sit and release their own juices. This process makes the food more flavorful and easier to chew and digest.
Maceration is often confused with marination (also known as marinating), which is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. (compliments of Wikipedia)

Anyway, I squeezed a couple of clementines over my strawberries and served them on the waffles, along with freshly whipped cream. Heaven.