Genius Recipes's Notes:
Expand3/4 cup all-purpose flour Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 cup cornstarch Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon baking powder Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 teaspoon baking soda Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or a combination) Ask a question about this ingredient
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter Ask a question about this ingredient
1 egg Ask a question about this ingredient
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Ask a question about this ingredient
Butter and pure maple syrup, for serving Ask a question about this ingredient
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
Ask a question about this stepHeat a waffle iron. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and pure maple syrup or hold in a 200 degree oven, directly on the rack (don't stack them or they'll get soggy). These also reheat very well in the toaster.
Ask a question about this stepI make this all the time. It is mind-blowing. I really like using browned butter (ghee) in place of the oil, or as a condiment. It makes the waffle taste like waffle-candy!
Also, I have found a 50/50 mix of buttermilk/regular milk to give me the most consistent results.
THANKS FOR POSTING THIS!
I made these today and they were great! Based on previous comments, I doubled the recipe which produced 7 waffles. I also used buttermilk and used half butter and half canola oil. They were crispy on the outside but had great flavor.
We've been enjoying these for over a year now (saw the recipe first time at the food network's website). They are delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Made these this morning and as good as they were I can't understand how anyone could think that this recipe could possibly feed 4. I had to ration the results to feed 3, and everyone wanted seconds. They were all out of luck. Double or triple it if you like to eat or have hungry 9 year old boys in the house.
I made these waffles for a Birthday Champagne Brunch for my girlfriend. I also made Nancy Silverton's Whipped Cream. The event was a big success. Everyone said they wondered why we don't make more waffles these days. Great recipe. I made enough for two waffles per attendee. I had 10 guests. Put them in the oven directly on the racks per the instructions so they wouldn't get soggy prior to serving. Served with fresh fruit, apple sausage, and champagne.
I have never made waffles in my life but I made these this past weekend for my new husband and me. Used a small Cuisinart waffle maker set on 3. They turned out great! I kept the unused batter in the fridge and made one tonight after stirring it up a bit. Had waffle instead of bread with supper. Still turned out great! By the way...I am not a great cook and have just recently started cooking at home instead of take out. Married life will do that for you. Thanks for this great recipe. Now I can impress my Mom...
Yes, insanely great! Just tried these for dinner on a hot summer night with cold maple syrup, whipped cream and frosted peach compote. A great way to cool off. Looking forward to trying a warmer version this fall.
Yum! I made these for my husband's birthday today, and they were fantastic. Wonderful texture, yummy flavor, great with fresh blueberry compote. The batter ended up resting for closer to an hour with no ill effects. The only comment I want to make is that in our WaringPro Belgian Waffle Iron, this made 2.5 - 3 waffles--definitely not 4. That was perfect for the two of us, but I'd recommend doubling the recipe if you want to feed 4 hungry waffle-eaters.
move over mark bittman: this is now the house waffle recipe. just what a waffle should be.
needed a little more time in my waffle iron to develop the perfect crispness.
Actually yes! Shirley Corriher recommended trying this with rice flour or starch, though I haven't done so yet. If you do, please let us know how it turns out.
We were out of cornstarch, so I substituted potato starch with very good results!
I'm waiting for the batter to rest right now, and while waiting I was wondering if anyone has tried these with other kinds of flour such as whole wheat or buckwheat, and whether that would disrupt the chemistry going on with the corn starch (buckwheat I know is gluten-free, so that might not work).
I always make them with 2 cups of whole wheat flour and they come out great.
Sorry, 2 cups after doubling the recipe so if you are following this recipe, add 1 cup whole wheat floor.
I can't wait to make these waffles this weekend after all these great reviews! My only question is: butter or vegetable oil? What would work better? And if oil, is canola ok?
Thank you for what promises to be a great breakfast!
According to Pam Anderson, a cookbook author & recipe developer, the oil is better for crisping (and canola is great), but I've made these plenty of times with melted butter and they're still nice and crisp -- but with the added benefit of tasting of butter. Let us know how they turn out!
My stepdaughter called this evening and said she'd be coming over in an hour -- at 7 pm -- uh oh! What should I make for dinner? The cupboard was basically bare. My daughter said: waffles! I said: Fabulous! Just the occasion to try the new recipe from food52! We rushed over to the store, bought eggs and buttermilk (told you the cupboard was bare!), doubled the quantities, (left out the sugar so my diabetic husband could eat them, too), took out everything that could possibly be put on waffles including pesto, emmenthal cheese, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, honey, nutella, peanut butter, and whipped cream...They were delicious and are going to be our go-to waffle from now on.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
We had these waffles for breakfast and they were delicious! Crispy on the outside and silky on the inside. The smell as they were cooking was incredible! I doubled the recipe and used buttermilk, but only half the amount of cornstarch (because I ran out). The result was delicious, but I'll try it with the full amount of cornstarch next time just to taste the difference. We will definitely make these waffles again!
I have the batter sitting right now. Wondering something...is this the right amount of flour? It seems like a really thin batter. Most waffle and pancake batters have much more flour and are thicker and coat the back of a spoon. This is very thin. It worried me. Should it be this thin? Also, how much batter should you put in the waffle iron? 1/4 cup? I am afraid to put too much or it will overflow.
Risa, it's meant to be a thinner, lighter batter -- but should puff up thanks to the baking soda and powder, and steam to puff it up in the iron. Let us know how it turns out!
I used buttermilk and I wonder if since the batter was thinner, I didn't pour enough in an area (so It might not have gotten hot enough). Thanks for the tips!
My criminal mind is already at work at how to use this as a platform for a more savory as opposed to sweet dish, maybe crawfish tails or a freaked out lobster salad.
I'm looking forward to giving this one a try - but you've also piqued my curiosity about an overnight version. Is there a recipe you'd recommend for that?
Dbradley, Marion Cunningham's is a good one -- see it in action here on Amateur Gourmet: http://bit.ly/hHVsIx
I freaking LOVE Aretha Frankenstein's. As a native Chattanoogan, I have to say there is NO better place to eat breakfast! I'm proud to admit that we stopped making pancakes from scratch at my house and only use Aretha's pancake mix.
I tested out the recipe for breakfast this morning. They were insane! Springy, crispy, light, and delicious. Next time I'll add some tart blueberries and fresh apricots to add a little zing.
Kristen, did you use whole milk buttermilk? I have such a hard time getting it! What's universally available and called "buttermilk" (as opposed to "Bulgarian buttermilk," which may be different in other ways, though I'm not sure about that) is actually a 1% fat "cultured milk product." I hope to make these tomorrow morning! And we are soooo looking forward to it. ;o)
AJ -- so sorry I didn't see this until now! I usually use 1% buttermilk too, because that's all I can find around here. Whole milk buttermilk would be pretty amazing though.
Kristen, did you test this on a waffle iron that wasn't a Belgian waffle iron? We're partial to the old-fashioned kind here, so I have a traditional one whose grid is not as deeply inset. Waffles are in the list of five all-time favorites of Mr. T, so I'm excited to see this, and cannot wait to try it out!! Many thanks. ;o)
AJ, you are speaking my language. (Check out the waffle maker review I did for the WSJ -- no Belgians allowed: http://on.wsj.com/o4ORFW). So yes, I can vouch that this batter works well in all the non-Belgian machines that I tested. Amanda's machine happens to have deeper Belgian-style pockets, so that's what we used for the photo. p.s. Now I'm curious to know Mr. T's other 4 all-time favorites.
I was excited about getting this recipe on email yesterday. However, the waffles were meh. They didn't rise very much so were really dense. Not much flavor. Luckily I planned ahead and had made a blueberry compote and blueberry whipped cream to go on top, and that made the dish!
Well that's a bummer, but I'm glad you were able to salvage them. I had a similar experience once with a rather wimpy Belgian waffle maker -- it never got hot enough to crisp them so they just came out like tasty steamed dumplings. If your baking powder is old, that could also be an issue. Did you use milk or buttermilk? I'm considering editing this recipe to recommend souring the milk with vinegar to better mimic buttermilk and help activate the baking soda. Thanks for trying them and letting us know! (Sorry for the confusing first post of this response -- I was signed in as one of our photographers to give her photo credit.)
I always use vinegar to make buttermilk and then use it to make waffles. May be that's why this recipe has become a weekly regular in my house:)
Nate and Mary Kate are the authors of the cookbook Feeding the Dragon: A Culinary Travelogue through China with Recipes.
We have always used the same waffle recipe in my house (joy of cooking), but, having noticed this recipe, I suggested we try something new for my birthday on Wednesday. This had become an immediate favourite, we've had it for breakfast every day since! My only note to other readers/cooks is along the lines of what others have said before - we have consistently gotten only 2.5 waffles out of this recipe. It's perfect for 2, but I'd start doubling or trippling the amounts if making breakfast for more than 2!