Belgian Waffles

I LOVE Belgian waffles. The first time I ever made them for myself was when I got to college and they had the little waffle makers in the dining halls. We have a waffle maker at home but I never liked those waffles for the same reason I never liked pancakes - at home we always used a box mix and the result was always less than satisfying. However, it's easy enough to make a homemade batter, so for Christmas morning breakfast, I decided to whip up a batch of waffles from scratch.

Ingredients [makes 4 waffles]:

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

+ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (leave this out if you prefer a more savory waffle)

+ butter for greasing

+ blueberries and/or chocolate chips and/or sprinkles and/or strawberries...

Start by combining the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk together to make sure the ingredients are well mixed.

Then in a separate bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Whisk together to combine.

When you're ready to cook the waffles, combine the wet and dry ingredients together. Whisk just until everything is combined. A few lumps are okay. And you should see a nice and bubbly batter, which is what happens when the acidic buttermilk reacts with the baking soda. SCIENCE!

Do whatever you need to do with your waffle iron; mine just heats up when I plug it in. Grease it with a little butter of cooking spray and then pour in some batter. I use about 2/3 cup per waffle. If you want to put something sweet into the waffle, sprinkle whatever you want (I'm showing you blueberries in these photos) and then close it up.

Wait 2 or 3 minutes (or whatever your waffle maker's directions say) and then open it up. You should be end up looking at a beautifully golden brown waffle.

Another yummy waffle flavor is sprinkles!

Doesn't this look festive and delicious?

Enjoy! It should be crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. And if you want to make this a dessert waffle, you could top with some hot fudge or chocolate sauce or caramel sauce or fill with chocolate chips and of course, top with a big scoop of ice cream.

Here's the recipe page: