For the Love of Waffles

Yesterday evening, my boyfriend and I took a big step in our relationship. After living together for three months, we finally brought home a new addition to our household:

A brand new waffle iron!

It’s hard for me to describe the depth of my love for waffles. I think it started when I was little and thought the waffle maker was the best thing since sliced bread. The way my mom would pour the batter into the mold, close the lid, and pull out a perfectly browned waffle just a few minutes later seemed like magic.

College dining halls served to enable my waffle-eating habits. Where else besides freshman year all-you-can-eat weekend brunch do you have an unlimited supply of Belgian waffle batter? It may not have been great for my waistline, but it was heaven.

As Emily and I continue to explore the DC brunch scene, I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the best spots for waffles. So far, I’ve been impressed with the buttermilk waffles at Open City in Woodley Park, which serve as the perfect canvas for my heaps of butter and syrup.

There are all kinds of waffles out there these days, but I tend to go for the basic. Again, I love adorning my waffle with butter and syrup–so that tends to mix better with a plain buttermilk or whole wheat base.

I opted to use a whole wheat recipe (via Cooks.com) this morning since I ran out of white flour last night while baking coconut vanilla cupcakes:

HEARTY WHOLE WHEAT WAFFLES

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, white whole wheat or traditional
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just till combined.Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron.

Serve with lots of butter and syrup. Or not. But it’s better with.

Note: It takes a few tries to break in a new waffle iron (as you can see from the picture below). Be patient, and I promise that the second waffle day will yield much better looking waffles!