Awesome Waffles

I know that you can go out and buy a box of frozen waffles.  I know that you can pop them in the toaster or microwave and have breakfast in a few minutes.  I also know that a made-from-scratch, home-cooked meal will beat a frozen box meal almost every time.  I wasn't much in the cooking mood this morning, but my wife was in the hungry mood, and proposed a waffle breakfast.  I hadn't made them in a while and the idea seemed great.  I like some homemade waffles.  I dug through my recipes and found one that stood out to me, and I want to share it with everyone.  I believe that this recipe incorporates the fluffiness that makes it palatable.  It has a good buttery flavor, but not overbearing.  And the outside of it has a slightly crispy texture that just begs you to keep eating.  I topped mine off with a little more butter and filled each delicious square with maple syrup.  My wife took the same route, but added some powdered sugar.  She was in search of some strawberries, but our daughter beat her to them.

Now that I've hopefully got your brain thinking food, and your mouth watering, are you ready to find out how I made them?  Well tune in next time to find out...  I'm not that mean.  Okay, here we go!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups AP flour (can be adjusted for lighter or denser waffles)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup whole milk (preferred, but can be substituted)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons of butter - soft/melted
• 2 eggs - beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

• I try to have my ingredients separated and ready to add.  I also try to keep my blender going as I add ingredients.  I feel it incorporates more air into the mix and makes them a little fluffier.  You don't have to do this.  It doesn't have that much effect of the final product.  It's just personal preference.  Whisking and blending wet/dry ingredients works just as well.
• With that said, I start off with the eggs and beat them with a hand blender.
• Next I add the buttermilk followed by the whole milk while keeping the blender going.
• Now it's time to add the butter.  If it's soft butter, beat it until there are only tiny pieces of butter are visible.  If it's melted, just add it in slowly and mix completely.
• Now we can start adding the dry ingredients.  I start with the small amounts and work my way up.  So I add the salt.
• Next in the mix are the baking soda, baking powder, and sugar.
• Finally, it's time to add the flour.  Above I mentioned that this can be adjusted for personal preference.  I would say that if you like very light waffles add flour until the mixture has a consistency of white school glue. If you like heavier waffles you'll probably aim more for a thicker "white gravy" consistency.  I believe 2 cups is about right down the middle.
• Ladle approximately 1/2 cup of mix into your waffle maker.  I usually stop adding mix when it is about 1 - 1 1/2 inches away from the edges.  That allows the lid to close, and the mixture to finish spreading out and rise.

As with any recipe this can be tweaked to suit the individual.  By all means change this however you deem necessary.  You should be made happy by making and eating the food you prepare.

After adding my extra pads of butter on top to melt in and the syrup, I devoured my plates contents trying to enjoy every second of it.  I admit that I am a food lover from top to bottom.  I believe that is the first step in creating great food.  If you give 100% and love it 100% it will show in the taste most of the time.  If you doubt that, visit one of your regular hangouts when the cook is having a bad day and doesn't want to be there.  Chances are you will taste a difference.

If you try this recipe, let everyone know how it turned out below in the comments.  Let us know if you would change something or any variations you liked.

As always, remember to do something good for someone else, Pay It Forward.