Basic Buttermilk Waffles

When I searched for a waffle recipe on Pinterest an abundance of things popped up, but most were flavored in some way, fancified to make them stand out and beg for a repin or a like.  Salted caramel waffles, bacon waffles (which actually sound wonderful to me) pumpkin waffles, bacon and cheddar waffles, cinnamon roll waffles, gingerbread waffles and some others.  Is no one satisfied with a simple basic waffle?  That’s all I wanted.  So I searched somewhere else.  Somewhere unaffected by current food trends and the hope for a repin or a retweet or a re-something or other.  A cookbook that was given to me by my mother called Rice Farmers Kitchen 2, printed in 1996, that includes recipes from my grandmother, my aunts, my mom and some other relatives and friends of relatives from Richvale, a small rice farming town in Northern California where my mom grew up.  I enjoy cookbooks like this where the name of the recipe submitter is included and, in this case, it’s extra special to know some of those people.

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This is a really basic waffle recipe and one I will go to in the future on mornings that I feel making something special for breakfast that doesn’t take a lot of time.  I had the batter mixed up and the first set of waffles cooking in 10 minutes.  These waffles have good flavor and a nice crisp exterior that makes it hard not to tear a piece to taste after you take them off the iron.  I’d forgotten how much I loved waffles!  I’ll take them over pancakes any day.

I made some plain, a few with mini chocolate chips, just sprinkled them on top of the batter before I shut the top, and tried one with dollops of peach jam…it didn’t work out very well.  A big burnt mess.  I’d imagined it turning out better than that.  Oh well!

Top these with whatever your heart desires.  After cooking would’ve been a better time for jam!  The kids ate them plain, a little syrup for Carson.  I like mine with butter, berries, and a little powdered sugar.  If you’re really feeling ambitious, fresh sweetened whipped cream and berries makes for a super wonderful and amazing breakfast…or dessert…or afternoon snack.

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I used a classic round waffle iron, this one to be exact.  It hasn’t gotten a lot of use in it’s 7.5 years in my possession (it was a wedding gift) but I see myself using it more often now since it really isn’t much more trouble than pancakes.  Mine cleaned up easily since I used nonstick spray for each waffle.  I also used the wet paper towel trick, which I use on the panini press, after I was done.  So other than the effort to take it out of the cupboard, there isn’t much extra work involved.  I do lust after a Belgian waffle maker, but I wonder if it makes a whole lot of sense to own both.  I might have to open a weekend brunch spot in order to justify it.  Thoughts?

A special thanks to Betsy who helped me with the waffle photo shoot.  I let her have some after I was done photographing.  How could anyone say no to this face?!  She was way into the whipped cream.  Definitely my daughter.  Enjoy!

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Basic Buttermilk Waffles

From The Rice Farmers Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Butter, syrup, berries, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, etc. for topping

Directions

  1. Heat waffle iron.
  2. Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  3. Beat wet ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until combined and all the flour is moistened, be sure to scrape the bottom of your bowl.
  5. Spray waffle iron with nonstick spray, then pour about 1/2 cup of batter into the center of the plate.  It should cover about 2/3 of the surface.  This depends on the size of your waffle iron, err on the side of too little the first time to test the waters.  Too much batter and you have a big mess.
  6. Close waffle iron and cook according to manufacturers instructions.  Serve immediately.  Can be reheated in a toaster or toaster oven.