Weeknight Waffles

One of my favorite family food memories is when Granny invited us over for homemade waffles.  It wasn't just special because it was Grandma's house, or because they were homemade, it was special because we ate them for DINNER.  And it was extra special for Mom, because it was pretty rare that she didn't have to cook at least three meals a day for all of us.

Waffle night at Granny's always happened during a time when Dad was out of town, usually hunting or fishing. He isn't a big fan of "breakfast for dinner", so it was a great opportunity for the rest of us to indulge in it.

The waffles were always accompanied by link sausages, Mrs. Butterworth's pancake syrup, and a selection of sweet toppings that we would have on our "dessert waffle"; applesauce and whipped cream, strawberries, bananas. Everything was washed down with giant glasses of cold milk, or orange juice if we were really lucky.

The worst part was the waiting; waffles have to be made one at a time, and we all fought over who got the first one. This recipe should be used in a standard waffle maker, although I intend to try it in my fancy flipper Belgian waffle maker and see how that goes some day.

Before you get started, turn your oven on to low.  Place a cooling rack inside a baking sheet.  You can pop this in the oven to hold the waffles and keep them warm as you make them, although they will probably get scarfed down so fast you won't need to.

WEEKNIGHT WAFFLES               Printable Version

1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs, separated
2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. white sugar

Melt the butter and set aside to cool.

Separate the eggs, saving the whites for later.  Beat the egg yolks until fluffy, then add the cooled butter, buttermilk and vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Add to the wet ingredients until just combined.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold into the batter until just blended.

Prepare the waffles following the directions for your waffle maker.