Aretha Frankenstein's Waffles of Insane Greatness
Author Notes: This recipe (originally from Aretha Frankenstein's restaurant in Chattanooga, TN) is the ideal I-just-woke-up-from-a-waffle-dream waffle, a morning-of alternative to the overnight yeasted kind. The cornstarch in the batter helps tamp down gluten formation, making these waffles silky and moist inside with a crust as thin and crisp as an eggshell. —Genius Recipes
Serves 2 to 4
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or a combination)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Butter and pure maple syrup, for serving
- 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.
- Heat 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.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes: Breakfast & Brunch|Rice & Grains|Breakfast
30 days ago SandraM
I was looking for a simple waffle recipe. Normally waffles are time consuming (folding egg whites to keep them fluffy or yeasted). But this recipe didn't need that. I was intrigued (and doubtful). Tried them yesterday and I was very impressed. The waffles got so fluffy while in the waffle maker and a nice crispy exterior when done. I even made another batch today to put in the freezer, as they toasted up nicely this morning. I will definitely be making these again and again. I used buttermilk, so that might have helped with the fluffiness. Such a lovely lightness to the waffles. So glad I tried this recipe. Thanks!
about 1 month ago Mindy Stone
Made these this morning. They were very tasty. Sadly, our 1960's GE waffle maker just didn't work well enough to make these waffles as fluffy and crispy as I know they would have been given the proper equipment. I really think this recipe should have been written doubled the amt. to begin with. I had a total of 4 people to feed and didn't double the recipe to start with. Will make again.
3 months ago Smitty Jl
Just made these for my family tonight. They loved them - OMG are they good. Krustees has just been banned from my kitchen. thx
5 months ago Elise Fahrer
These are my new go to recipe for waffles! I doubled the recipe since I had a pretty hungry crew and I ditched the oil and used butter. I also added vanilla bean paste to the mixture. They flew off the table!
11 months ago Sara Woods
I LOVE this recipe. They take longer to cook than other recipes I've tried recently, but they eventually got a nice deep golden color and crisp exterior. So easy, so delicious. I'm going to play with adding spices, flavorings, and other garnishes next time.
11 months ago Cindy
I've searched waffle recipes the world over and if you don't beat your egg whites stiff and fold them in, you may as well use pancake batter, yuk! Plus you need as least 3 eggs. These waffles were flat.
12 months ago Larkin Young
Worst waffle recipe I've ever used.
about 1 year ago NakedBeet
Tried this out tonight after an "overnight recipe" disaster. Used grapeseed oil and light buttermilk. I set my Belgian wafflemaker (deep grooves) to 3.5 and while the first was nice and crispy (I buttered the grill right before) the 2nd waffle got limp right away. I went to setting 4 and definitely got an interior cooked through with a nice crispness that stayed. My yield was only 4 waffles, so will definitely double for next time. Will have to test out how these toast in the morning. The flavor was great and the crisp is nice if you can eat them right away. I also forgot to reduce the salt, so used 3 tsp of sugar and it was perfect.
about 1 year ago Sophie S.
this recipe was really good; i like that it's really easy :D i used all buttermilk and sunflower oil. subbed potato starch for cornstarch and it still came out alright, in case anyone was wondering!
about 1 year ago Annie
Loved this recipe! It's so easy to make (no whipped egg whites!) and yields light and fluffy waffles. I used white whole wheat flour and the waffles still came out very light with a crisp crust. Recommend using buttermilk rather than regular whole milk - greater flavor!
about 1 year ago Kristen
Followed recipe to a "T" even at high altitude. I couldn't make them fast enough for the family. One of the best waffles, crispy on the outside and light on the inside, of course I used my 1970s waffle iron.
over 1 year ago Jasmine
Greatest waffle recipe ever.
over 1 year ago allans
Haven't made waffles for a while, so I thought this was a good recipe to try. They were crispy, but not a rave. I'll try them again using buttermilk, (I was out).
over 1 year ago allans
okay...(facepalm here). On second attempt I realized I had forgotten one important ingredient, Baking Soda. Second time was a dream. Just as promised, delicious and crispy good. Definitely a recipe worth keeping. :)
about 1 year ago Brianna Jervis
This made me smile!
over 1 year ago ErinC
Waffles success! These came out perfectly--great recipe, will make again. Very crisp!
over 1 year ago Jara
These were a total fail for me. They were greasy and weirdly gooey from the cornstarch. We had to throw them out.
over 1 year ago Meleyna Nomura
These were great. Light and crispy without having to dirty an extra bowl to whip egg whites. Used buttermilk and coconut oil, just because I like the flavor. Salt seemed high even before I read the comments--I used about 1/4 tsp.
Butter has higher water content that oil, which may affect crispness, and regular milk vs buttermilk may be culprit for runny batter.
over 1 year ago Greatfallsdeb
I have used both types of waffle maker and prefer them made with the normal one. I also find them a tad too salty so have cut that back. I use veg oil instead of butter and usually use buttermilk. Light, crispy and fabulous.
over 1 year ago Lee
I did use a Belgian Waffle maker, which also has a doneness gauge which I leaned toward more well-done than not. Whenever I make pancakes or waffles, I don't like to have batter that is too thick, but certainly didn't add enough extra milk to make it runny. Just kind of a feel thing. We thought the waffles were both light and tender-crispy -- not crispy like a crispy toast or a chip! Hope this helps. I also thought they were perhaps a tad on the salty side, but didn't mind because went well with sweet syrup. I can't remember if I used salted or unsalted melted butter -- I mostly use unsalted when making things like t his, but can't recall for sure this particular time. The buttermilk might have added to the tangy-salty taste as well. I didn't double the recipe, I felt it made more than 4 waffles -- maybe 6, but I did thin out the batter.
over 1 year ago Jill Murray
I made these tonight for dinner. Doubled the recipe, used melted butter instead of oil. Amount of salt was fine. The batter wasn't thick, but it also didn't seem too thin. They were good, but weren't crispy like I expected. Are they better suited for a Belgian Waffle iron? I just used a regular one. What's the trick to making them crispy?
over 1 year ago vlucky
I used unsalted French butter and doubled the recipe since my kids have never met a waffle they didn't eat. No whole milk or buttermilk in the house so used a can of 2% evaporated (can was about to expire so I figured, why not?). Added about half of a 6oz cup of 2% Greek yogurt and then topped off with skim to get 2 cups. Since I was doubling, and read some comments, I used 1/4 cup corn starch and 1/4 cup rice flour (another pantry item that hangs out and gets little use in my house. Verdict by my guys: best waffle ever, better than Bittman's overnight. The double recipe yielded 13 waffles in my Krups square 4 waffle iron.
over 1 year ago vlucky
Actually, I think it was 10 and not 13. Had a lot of other stuff going on and they went so fast I probably miscounted.