Weekend Waffles

If we aren't eating pancakes (regular or orange) on Saturday mornings, we are often eating waffles instead.  I just love a home-y breakfast!  The recipe I usually use for waffles comes from Alton Brown's cookbook I'm Just Here for More Food.  It is fairly basic, and depending on the speed and size of your waffle maker, relatively fast.

First, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  I add a few shakes of cinnamon, too.  Alton Brown actually says to mix this in a food processor but I use a whisk instead.  In a separate bowl, whisk melted butter and eggs, and then add buttermilk and sugar.  I add a bit of vanilla extract, too.

 Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and then let it sit for 5 minutes.

Plop a scoop of batter onto a preheated waffle iron coated with cooking spray (do the spray BEFORE preheating) and then follow the instructions for your particular waffle iron.  The resulting waffles are light and puffy and super tasty!

You can use this batter in a Belgian waffle maker as well.  I personally like the flatter version better.  Speaking of waffle irons, do you have a favorite?  I highly prefer the ones with a removable grate, but those are seriously hard to find.  I find the other kind too hard to get clean.  However this one (Black and Decker) is downright dangerous, it gets so hot.  The outside is totally uninsulated so however hot the coils get, the metal on the exterior gets as well.  There are plastic handles for lifting the lid, but they get somewhat hot too.  After unplugging the unit one day, I accidentally brushed the side of the waffle iron when cleaning the counter and got a nasty purple burn on my arm.  No good!  But, I can't seem to find anything better.  Do you have any ideas?  

Weekend Waffles
adapted from Alton Brown

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 TB butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 TB sugar

Coat the waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a food processor or with a whisk.  Whisk together the butter and eggs, then add the buttermilk and sugar.  Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until the batter comes together.  There should be lumps.  Scoop batter onto the waffle iron and spread lightly with the back of the spoon.  Close the waffle iron and bake until golden and crisp.  Serve immediately or keep warm in an 200F oven wrapped in a tea towel.
Printable Recipe

Serve with your particular favorite waffle topping!  For us, that means syrup and maybe some sliced strawberries.  This recipe makes many more waffles than our family eats in a morning, so after letting them cool, I stick them in a ziplock bag and into the refrigerator they go.  Then on a weekday morning, I can take them out, pop them into my toaster oven and have weekday waffles as as treat!  On weekdays, I often put peanut butter on my waffles.  I don't know why that is a weekday thing and not a weekend thing for me, that's just how it is!  What is your favorite waffle topping?