Waffles

Have you ever woke up from an afternoon nap and thought, “I would love a waffle”? I did the other day. I woke up and totally craved a waffle. Unfortunately my old roommate Mark broke my waffle iron a couple of years back. (Yeah, totally called you out on that Mark.) So I decided to go to Target and grab a waffle iron. They had a few, and I chose the cheapest one. Only $19.95. Not too shabby, but more on this in the post. Then I went looking for a great recipe. I searched my recipe books and found a decent sounding one from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I took this as a base and tweaked it for my own personal tastes.

I added a bit of sugar and vanilla to the recipe to give the waffle a little more depth.

Light and Fluffy Waffles

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk, vanilla, and oil. Make sure to use a medium sized bowl. I made the mistake of trying to use a cereal bowl and it totally was not big enough.

Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened.

In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up). You can use a mixer, but if you are about to eat 3 waffles like I do, you may want to do it by hand. A little exercise can’t hurt, right?

Gently fold the egg whites into the mixed batter, leaving a few fluffs of egg white. Do not overmix. The key to light and airy waffles is to not over-mix the batter.

Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill it. This is key, as you can see from the photos, I did not read the manufacturer’s suggested amount for batter. I went a tad over.

Serve with butter and syrup.

Waffle Iron Shopping Tips

Make sure your waffle iron locks. The cheap waffle iron that I purchased does not lock the lid. So the batter, as it rose, opened the iron and caused the waffles to be deformed. I had to manually hold the lid down for 5 minutes to get the waffles to come out correctly. Doesn’t sound too hard, but making waffles causes a lot of steam to be formed. I totally burned my hands a couple of times. My tip: you get what you pay for. Spend the extra $5 for a waffle iron that locks.

— Rex

Light and Fluffy Waffles

Light and fluffy homemade waffles adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Includes tips for choosing the right waffle iron.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings: 8 Waffles

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 egg whites

Equipment

• 1 Waffle Iron
• 1 Mixing Bowl
• 1 Mixer Handheld or Stand – Players Choice

Method

 

1. Mix Dry Ingredients — In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. Combine Wet Ingredients — In a separate bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk, vanilla, and oil. Make sure to use a medium sized bowl. I made the mistake of trying to use a cereal bowl and it totally was not big enough.
3. Combine Wet and Dry — Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened. Do not overmix.
4. Beat Egg Whites — In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up). You can use a mixer, but if you are about to eat 3 waffles like I do, you may want to do it by hand. A little exercise can’t hurt, right?
5. Fold in Egg Whites — Gently fold the egg whites into the mixed batter, leaving a few fluffs of egg white. Do not overmix. The key to light and airy waffles is to not over-mix the batter.
6. Cook Waffles — Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill it. This is key, as you can see from the photos, I did not read the manufacturer’s suggested amount for batter. I went a tad over.
7. Serve — Serve with butter and syrup.

Notes

Tips to buying waffle irons: Make sure that your waffle iron locks. The cheap waffle iron that I purchased does not lock the lid. So the batter, as it rose, opened the iron and caused the waffles to be deformed. I had to manually hold the lid down for 5 minutes to get the waffles to come out correctly. Doesn’t sound too hard, but making waffles causes a lot of steam to be formed. I totally burned my hands a couple of times. My tip: you get what you pay for. Spend the extra $5 for a waffle iron that locks.