Serves a Crowd

Plain Ol’ Waffles

by:
December  8, 2010
4
1 Ratings
  • Makes about seven 7” round waffles
Author Notes

We love waffles. And pancakes, too. I adapted my waffle recipe from this pancake recipe, which, in my opinion, makes one of the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted: http://www.saveur.com/article... . The basic difference between waffle and pancake batter is the amount of fat. That nice crisp-on-the-outside tender-on-the-inside quality in a waffle comes from using more fat, like oil or butter. I prefer oil – saves me the step of melting butter. And I’m most likely going to smother the thing with butter anyways once it’s cooked. I can never remember to buy buttermilk, so I always use a sour milk mixture when making pancakes and waffles. The kids demand chocolate chips in their waffles, but I prefer mine plain. —mrslarkin

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • 1 cup non-fat milk (it's the only kind I buy)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
  • chocolate chips, optional (Guittard chips are really delicious)
Directions
  1. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray, or brush with vegetable oil. Heat waffle iron.
  2. In a large measuring cup, stir together the milk, cream and lemon juice. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl (with a pouring spout, if possible), whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  4. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla and egg to the milk mixture. Stir. Pour into the flour mixture and stir gently but thoroughly until almost smooth. It’s okay if your batter is a little lumpy.
  5. Pour batter in center of waffle iron grid, leaving about an inch batter-free. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, if using. Close lid and cook until steam is gone, or the light goes off, or however your waffle iron works. Remove waffles to a cooling rack, not stacked on a dish where they’d get all sweaty.
  6. Serve hot with butter and real maple syrup. Sconeman likes to spread his with peanut butter and maple syrup. I like mine with butter and jam.
  7. Leftovers can be stored in a plastic zipper bag in the refrigerator, and reheated in a 350 degree F oven, or toasted in a toaster oven. But when I was making the waffles tonight, I thought “why not just use the waffle iron to rewarm them?” I’ll try that tomorrow!
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

7 Reviews

Jeff M. March 31, 2019
This is a simple recipe to follow which is the reason why I selected this recipe this morning. A bit thick, the batter, but a touch more milk made the difference. As others have noted, I too decided to forgo the lemon and in the future would add a bit more sugar. I paired this simple waffle creation with a fruit compote which was the perfect partner for Sunday brunch. Cheers
Jessie G. November 6, 2011
My mother just passed along the waffle maker we used as kids and I wanted to find a recipe to use with my own children. I skipped the lemon juice bc my kids asked for "plain waffles." Waffles still tasty -- though a bit "eggy" (says one of my daughters) but I think she just doesn't know how a REAL waffle tastes!
TaraT May 25, 2011
This has become our go-to Sunday morning waffle recipe, we love it!
mrslarkin May 25, 2011
That is so great, TaraT! Thank you so much for letting me know!
DavidS726 January 24, 2013
I'm sorry but not a good waffle recipe. The mix was way too thick. I ended up with a doughy, Greek-diner like product. This was after I had added even more milk. Just too much work for this product. I could have had a toaster waffle. Also my stomach is killing me.
mrslarkin January 24, 2013
Sorry you had a bad experience with these, DavidS726. We make them all the time and LOVE them! How 'bout a little ginger ale for your tummy ache?

You should check out http://food52.com/recipes/13871_aretha_frankensteins_waffles_of_insane_greatness for a lighter, airier waffle. They are epic.
DavidS726 January 24, 2013
Thank you, I definitely will try them.