Belgian Waffles

Happy New Year! This post was meant for yesterday, but i forgot to take the pictures while i was cooking. We decided to have the same thing for breakfast today, and so i made sure i remembered to grab my camera while i was cooking.

Yummy Belgian waffles, usually we just use a pancake mix and add a couple spoonfuls of sugar and vanilla extract to sweeten it up; but i found this recipe and decided to try the real thing.

Makes 5 - 6 waffles. 

2 cups flour, sifted.

3 tsp baking powder.

1 tsp salt.

2 Tbsp sugar.

2 egg yolks, beaten.

1 + 1/2 cups milk.

6 Tbsp cooking oil.

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten.

optional for serving:

1 pint strawberries, sliced.

2 Tbsp sugar.

whipped topping.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. In a separate bowl, mix together egg yolks, milk and oil. 

Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just enough to moisten; batter will be lumpy. Fold in egg whites.

Dab butter onto hot iron. Cook as per instructions until browned.

To serve: mix together strawberries and sugar; pour over waffles, top with whipped cream. 

I used melted margarine instead of oil, because we were out and nothing is open; I microwaved the margarine to melt it, and let it cool while i whisked the egg whites. I have had an experience before while making muffins of adding hot melted margarine to an egg mixture. This created scrambled eggs...and funny tasting muffins. I also added about a tsp of vanilla extract to my waffle mix for flavour. We skipped the strawberries because it is not the time of year to buy them around here; the price is about 4 or 5 dollars for the pint!! I will stick to my syrup. 

I only got three and a half waffles, but I don't have a normal thin waffle iron; I have an actual Belgian waffle maker, which is super deep. It makes waffles almost an inch thick, the recipe probably did not take into account that. Mmmm, but because they are so big, you only need one to fill you up, so i stuck the extras in the fridge for tomorrow. 

The best part about this recipe, is it was non sticking! I only had to spray the waffle iron once, at the beginning. I filled it four times, and every time the waffle popped out with a bit of prodding from a fork. Usually when we use a pancake mix, i have to spray it between waffles.

I will be using this recipe again, but it is not an every day recipe. Yesterday, we had company. Today, we slept in until noon and decided to have them because they were just so darn good!! Next time i make them, it will probably be for company; just because it takes a lot of ingredients and time. It is a lot easier to just use a pancake mix, just add water vanilla and a bit of sugar. It just does not seem as fancy as home made Belgian waffles, though. :-)

Hope 2011 is treating everyone good so far!!