Saturday Waffle Breakfast

Easy Waffle Recipe with Homemade Maple Syrup 


My homemade syrup
from the maple trees in the back ground

Making all that homemade syrup got me thinking about recipes using fresh maple syrup! Waffles and pancakes are always a hit at our house, but I have never been a big fan of waffles.

And listen, I am guilty. Until recently, if you searched my pantry, you would find a box of Hungry Jack Instant Pancake and Waffle mix. That may be the cause of my attitude towards pancakes and waffles, the coming from a box taste.

I admit, I've never really read the ingredients on instant pancake and waffle mixes except the directions.
I had no idea what the ingredients even were!
We have been trying to eat healthier in the last few years and reading more and more labels of the food we buy. The fewer the ingredients (and ingredients I can actually pronounce) is at the top of the list for me.

But for some reason I overlooked store bought pancake and waffle mix. YIKES!

Ingredients:

ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, DEXTROSE, BAKING POWDER (BAKING SODA, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE), BUTTERMILK, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, POTASSIUM BICARBONATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, EGGS, CORN STARCH, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, COLORED WITH YELLOW 5 AND RED 40, IRON, NIACIN, VITAMIN B6, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12.



And I got to thinking, are all those ingredients really necessary to make good pancakes or waffles?

I learned that throwing together a waffle recipe at home is not much more involved than making the store bought mix. Most box mixes have the dry ingredients, then you add oil, egg and water.  The difference between box and made at home is, of course, the taste, (so much better) but also losing all the dyes and unnecessary ingredients.

And if I want, I can mix the dry ingredients of this recipe ahead of time, and store in a sealed container or glass jar. Just add the eggs, milk and oil when I’m ready to make waffles! Just like most store bought instant mixes, only better.

I found a recipe in The Farmer’s Cookbook by Marie W. Lawrence. A back to basics guide to making cheese, soups, stews, curing meat, preserving, making bread, fermenting, baking pies and cookies and much more.
I found a copy at Half Priced Books for $12.95.  Retails for $24.95.  I am loving this book so far.
Yum, good-old-fashioned-from-scratch recipes, and now WAFFLES!

This is an easy recipe and bakes up nice and fluffy, with a crispy golden exterior just waiting for butter.

When using a waffle iron, the single most important thing to remember is to spray or brush the waffle grids before and maybe in-between cooking waffles with oil. This is true even if your waffle iron is supposed to be non-stick.

The waffle iron I have is an inexpensive model, sold at K-Mart or Sears I believe and still available on a few websites for $10 to 15.00. 
I received it as a gift?
I can't remember where this thing came from! but it works great.
The Essential Waffle Maker has been sitting in my pantry for a while.
If you have a large family or regularly have relatives visiting you may want to purchase a larger waffle iron.

Serve the waffles hot, with butter and maple syrup. For a special treat, cover with fresh strawberries (or blueberries) and whipped cream. Or top with homemade jam.

Homemade Waffles:

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated
1 Cup milk
¼ corn oil
1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
½ Teaspoon salt
1 Cup flour
2 Teaspoon baking powder


Preheat waffle iron. It should be really hot for waffles to cook properly. Most new waffle irons have a temperature control indicator feature that will let you know when the waffle iron is ready to cook and let you know the waffle is done.

Directions:

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside
Combine the egg yolks, milk and oil in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
Combine flour, salt and baking powder, and then whisk into milk mixture.
Once the batter is smooth, fold in egg whites until they are well incorporated.
The less mixing you do from now on the better.

Pour out enough batter to cover the inner part of the iron while leaving an uncovered edge perhaps ½” wide. The batter will expand while cooking. Lower the top and cook.
Remove the waffles by their edges with a fork.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Hint: Add a little cinnamon or ginger for a little different taste

This recipe should produce 4 large or 8 small waffles, depending on your waffle iron size.

The recipe can be doubled. Since you have the waffle iron out go ahead and cook up a few extras, cool, place two together in a freezer bag and freeze. The kids will love simply popping them in the toaster!


Hope you're having a great weekend,
Elizabeth


Other Posts:

Malabar Farm Sugaring Festival

Tapping Maple Trees

Turning Sap Into Syrup

Maple Syrup Making

Waffle Iron Reviews