Waffle back-and-forth this winter

photo by acme

Cold temperatures are upon us, and the light summer fare has been set aside. We have heartier appetites and long for comfort foods. One of my favorite breakfast treats on weekends, during the colder months, is waffles. No, I’m not talking about those hard-as-a-hockey-puck frozen waffles that we occasionally toast up on busy mornings. I pull out our trusty waffle maker, and light and crispy homemade waffles become the indulgence of the day. They’re so simple that even my husband (cough, cough) and kids can make them.

Our family started out small, so creating waffles one at a time wasn’t a problem, but now that our family is considerably larger, I’ve discovered that, in order for us all to eat together and enjoy hot waffles, I need to place each completed waffle into a 200 F oven as I’m cooking the rest. Then I simply serve them all at one time, and they stay crispy.

Plain waffles with syrup can get dull, so if I have extra time, I like to either make various sauces and flavored butters or add fun toppings such as whipped cream, fresh fruit, peanut butter, honey, powdered sugar, baking chips or sprinkles. Whenever I don’t have a lot of time but still don’t want to serve waffles with typical commercial syrup, I improvise and use heated, canned pie filling.

I’ve also made waffles as a wonderful dessert. Just add ice cream and your favorite ice-cream sundae toppings. I love mine with Nutella and vanilla ice cream.

Homemade waffles can be easily frozen, too. Simply reheat them in your oven. You can wean yourself from toaster waffles in no time. If your waffle maker has been sitting on a shelf, take it out and try the following recipes.

Homemade Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Heat waffle iron. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir together milk, butter, vanilla and egg yolks, add to dry ingredients, and blend until smooth but don’t overmix. Whip together sugar and egg whites, and fold into the batter. Pour waffle batter onto iron, and cook until golden brown. — adapted from a recipe submitted by Kim, Florida

Apple Topping

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 medium apples, peeled and sliced

Bring brown sugar, water, butter, cornstarch and cinnamon to a boil; boil until thick, about 2 minutes. Stir in apples, and cook down approximately 10 minutes.

Blueberry Sauce

2 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup water, orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil while stirring.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries, but don’t completely mash the blueberries. Simmer approximately 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.

Vanilla Buttermilk Syrup

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, stir together sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup and baking soda. Bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla.

Flavored butter: For additional flavor, consider mixing various ingredients such as cinnamon, fresh bananas, strawberries and peaches with your butter to use on your waffles.

How do you like your waffles?

Posted by Sara Noel on December 18 2008. Filed under Frugal Cooking.
Sara Noel owns Frugal Village, LLC and is a nationally syndicated columnist with Universal Uclick. Bio, Follow me on Twitter, Join us on Facebook