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The Perfect Waffle

When Vince and I got married 15 years ago, he had an ancient waffle maker that worked like a charm.  He had a waffle recipe given to him by his best friend in college . . probably given to him in college the way the paper looks.  I still have that recipe, though I’ve lost it at least once, had to email Steve and get it again, but in the last move, the original recipe was found again.

The old waffle maker that Vince had eventually quit working.  What happens with so many things (including myself) is that as they get older, they just get slower and slower and then finally quit working completely.  I hadn’t realized how slow it was but when I’d start making waffles, Vince and Chad would start eating, and then they’d be ready for seconds before the next batch was done and they’d be completely finished eating before enough waffles were made that I had one for myself.

We bought a new waffle maker – same brand, looked just like the old one, but it never did make decent waffles.  When I got the Cuisinart Griddler, I ordered the waffle plates.  I loved the Griddler but didn’t love the waffle attachment.

Almost every weekend, Vince asks for waffles.  Out of desperation, I even thought I’d try getting a cast iron non-electric waffle iron.  I tried that once!

Last week, I decided I was going to start making more waffles and I’m going to experiment with different recipes — like adding some whole wheat or making banana nut waffles, or honey yogurt waffles.  The first thing I needed would be a decent waffle maker.  I like waffles that are crispy on the outside, kinda chewy in the middle (not the ones that are crispy all the way through); I like for them to have deep pockets in order to hold lots of maple syrup and I wanted a waffle iron that doesn’t take 10 minutes to make a waffle!  The Chef’s Choice 850 was the one I kept coming back to even though it was a bit more than I had wanted to pay.  I gave in and ordered it.  This morning I was ready to go — the ancient recipe, the waffle maker and the mixer!

The instructions say to pour one cup of batter into the waffle maker but I didn’t measure.  Guess I was a little shy of a cup!

Still not one to give up and measure, I eyeballed what I thought might be just a little more batter than I’d used for the first batch!

This just proves that even the best of gadgets is only as good as the operator!  Hey . . at least I can give you an honest review now on how easy or difficult it is to clean the darned thing up!

The waffles were perfect!  They were crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle.  The pockets are plenty deep.  As for the maker itself, I think I read that the irons cannot go in the dishwasher . . which isn’t a problem around here because there is no dishwasher!  I simply wiped the edges down with a wet dish rag and the overflow wiped right off.  Since the waffles didn’t stick to the irons, I didn’t even wash them . . just bushed them out with my little brush, wiped the top down with a paper towel and called it clean!

The waffles are done in just 2 minutes.  That’s great when I’m needing to make more than one batch.

Vince was either (1) in a hurry to get outside and get started on the water line repair or (2) aggravated that I paid more than $20 for the waffle iron but when I asked him what he thought of the waffles, he said:   They taste like waffles!  Maybe I’ll send it back and he can have cold cereal and milk for breakfast!  🙂

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Comments

  2. I will have to look at that one. The one I have is getting old and a waffle takes about 5 minutes to cook – by time the second one is done Mike already has his plate ready for it (he eats fast!) by time I am getting my waffle he is gone!!
    Karen

  3. I don’t know what kind of waffle iron we have- but hubby loves it and makes us waffles every Sunday – though we need to do a double batch and restock the ones in the freezer that my son eats for breakfast during the week (w/ peanut butter and Nutella – yum!)

  4. We love waffles too! I bought a used waffle iron at a flea market the first year Don & I were married, and it has chugged along just fine. My kids always ask for waffles too when they come to visit.

    I hope Vince enjoys his cold cereal!!!!

  5. I guess it will be a long time in Texas before Vince gets waffles again. I also like waffles, but only by a certain recipe. I really hate waffles made from pancake batter. I rarely make them now because Bill doesn’t eat them or any other breakfast. It is difficult to just make one or two waffles, but I don’t mind heating them up in the toaster for a quick snack.

  7. Several years ago I decided I wanted a waffle iron, one like we had when I was a child. I didn’t want teflon or any other kind of non-stick surface. So… I hit eBay and found the most perfect old waffle iron, probably from the 50’s or 60’s. It has both the waffle plates and the sandwich plates. I love it!

    I don’t like the deep “waffle” holes. I just want an old fashioned waffle like when I grew up. BUT.. I want them to taste like Waffle House! I do have a Waffle House waffle recipe and that’s what I use. Perfection!

  8. Just a quick note for anyone who loves waffles but can only eat one or two. They freeze wonderfully! Just pop them in the toaster like Eggos!

    • Thank you, Mel!
      I’ve done that. I think I just need to remember to eat them w/in a few days. They’re not sooo good a year later! LOL. 🙂

  10. I LOVE waffles, but my DH doesn’t like the smell of any kind of waffle/pancake mixing ingredients or maple syrup smell. So I rarely get to make them or have them out. Sometimes I order them when I’m out with the girls for lunch! I also get them when I’m traveling to quilt shows/classes with a friend if the hotel has one of those “make your own, flip it over kind.” In a pinch, they do just fine. 🙂

  11. The Williams Sonoma irons make absolutely fantastic belgian waffles, nice and deep golden, crispy outside and tender inside. King Arthur’s sourdough waffles are to die for.

    • The highest wattage ones I saw at Williams Sonoma were 850 watts and the one I got is 1750 watts. I wanted one that cooked the outside quickly and steamed the inside so that it was done but yet tender.

  13. I’m SO going to check this out! I have been wanting a waffle maker with removable plates. But when I checked this one out via your link, one of the reviewers was not satisfied with the removable plates, sooo….. I may also look at the Williams-Sonoma model that “CJ” mentioned.

    Thank you for this! You’re an excellent reviewer. 🙂

    • If watts matter to you, be sure to compare. I wanted the highest wattage I could get so it would be hot and cook the outside crispy while leaving the inside tender.

  15. Your waffles look so good I’m going to have to make myself some for breakfast tomorrow. Yum! Might as well, as the rain is supposed to continue all day tomorrow. I’m just happy it isn’t snow!

  16. Typical man answer when asked how the food was. My DH will say, “It’s edible.” Not exactly what I want to know…I want to know if he LIKES it so I can either make it again or throw the recipe out. Men!!

  17. I would love if you shared your recipe. I had one and in my move, misplaced. When all the kids come they love to make waffles. JCP has a fantastic waffle iron and at Retailmenot.com you can usually find a coupon. (love that site, always check when ordering anything online). Do you know you can even use cake mix, corn bread mix or brownie mix? Yum, yum. My son and I love to experiment.

  18. DH makes our waffles, he used one of the non electric cast iron makers. Come out great, I know it doesn’t get washed, just and pieces removed. But we eat waffles for Sunday night supper with breakfast sausage and real maple syrup made here on the farm.
    Hugs!!!!!!!!

  19. I’m the opposite – I searched forever to find a waffle maker with little holes (everything I kept finding was belgium type waffles). Thin waffles with little holes and more crispy than chewy – that’s for me! I finally found one but getting the perfect amount of batter — I don’t measure either — is always a challenge. 🙂

  20. We are still using the GE waffle maker my husband bought me for Christmas the year he came back from Vietnam!! That was 1969. I prefer the smaller holes and it also has the reversible flat side. Great for grilled cheese sandwiches.

  21. Judy,
    You made me laugh this am with the waffles. I loved the too little and the too much.

  22. We love waffles in this house! We’d eat them every weekend if it were up to my husband! Just so you know I NEVER get the proper amount in the iron! The waffles are either too small or I’m scrubbing batter off the back and sides. It never fails!

    • Did the same thing this morning — first one didn’t have enough and the second batch ran over. I’ll probably never get it right either.

  23. This is so funny because my 17 yo granddaugter got a purple Bella waffle maker for Christmas and is in the middle of making some chocolate chip waffles,LOL! This is a small waffle maker but they are really looking good! She gets a lot of pans etc., especially in her favorite purple. My little chef.

  24. Loved your post this a.m. – made me laugh out loud. The waffles look and sound so yummy. Been a long time since I’ve had any. Your plate is pretty too.

  26. The waffles look wonderful, Judy! I’ll bet that the more often you have them, Vince will admit that it’s a great waffle maker. Well, as long as it holds out, anyway! I sometimes think my dishwasher is a curse. I tend to pile dishes in the sink while I get good and ready to unload the clean dishes from the dishwasher. I’ve never minded loading the dirty dishes in, it’s just putting everything away that bothers me. I am the world’s worst housekeeper.

  27. If you could please share that recipe, I’d dust off my old waffle iron and try it out.

  28. How about a recipe? When my aunt died that was the one thing her daughter wanted. The waffle iron. A well used one!

  29. Yup, we are Waaffle eaters around here and just love them
    I can relate to the overage in the pour as my Son is the waaffle maker…( as he calls them) measuring is not in his DNA! LOL

  30. Fun story! My son loves waffles but his sister thought the 27+ year old electric waffle iron I had (my grandma gave it to me for my first wedding!!!) was too “old school” and gave him a new one for Christmas. I rarely eat waffles but we also have a Belgian wafflemaker too. During the annual Mother’s Day brunch we throw it is set up on the wet bar for a waffle station.

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