Weekday Waffles with Maple-Blueberry Butter

Each Thursday, Emily Vikre (a.k.a. fiveandspice) will be sharing a new way to love breakfast -- because breakfast isn't just the most important meal of the day. It's also the most awesome.

Today: Eggo your own waffles, and eat them all week long. 

Growing up we mostly ate homemade, totally non-processed food. However, my mother, like any mother trying to both stay sane and get her children to eat something, please (especially at breakfast time!) did have certain concessions she was willing to make to my brothers and me.  One of these was Eggo waffles for the boys. For years that was the only way to get something into their stomachs in the morning.  On the other hand, I thought for years that I didn’t like “American waffles” (as opposed to Norwegian waffles, which my mom made for snacks) because I had tasted none but Eggo.

Turns out, though, “American waffles,” aka Belgian waffles, are really quite delicious if you make them yourself, all shatteringly crisp on the outside but soft and airy on the inside. You probably knew that all along. The problem with homemade waffles is that they are usually confined to lazy weekend brunches, depriving all those other mornings of a waffle fix. But, this doesn’t have to be the case at all -- because you can Eggo your own waffles. If you make a big batch on the weekend, let them cool, wrap them well, and freeze them, they can be popped out and into the toaster to be heated and crisped and eaten, even on the busiest morning.

These waffles, made hearty with whole grains and nubbly with seeds, are perfect for freezing and toasting up in the middle of the week. They’re filling enough to keep you going for a while, especially when spread with a well-chosen topping.

I like to make quick fruit compotes to keep around (just simmer a fruit of your choice -- cut into small pieces as necessary -- with a smidge of honey until softened, then cool and keep in a jar in the fridge) and then top waffles with the compote and a generous spoonful of yogurt or ricotta. Nut butter plus sliced fruit is also a good choice. Or for what may be the ultimate all-in-one topping, blend blueberries, maple syrup, and butter all into one amazing spread. They’re what you want on your waffle anyway, it just makes sense to combine them into a single schmearable substance. Utilitarian and delicious is always a good combination.

Weekday Waffles with Maple-Blueberry Butter 

Makes 8 to 10 modest-sized Belgian waffles

Weekday Waffles

3 cups white whole-wheat flour (plain whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour do both work as well)
4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 cups warm buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons orange juice (optional, but King Arthur Flour says it cuts some of whole wheat’s bitterness) 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mixed seeds (I use a combination of poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds)
Maple blueberry butter for serving

Maple-Blueberry Butter

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or other berry of your choice)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Emily Vikre