Guest Post by Maureen Dahl
When the kids were young I often made them waffles; or pancakes in various shapes, palm trees with mini coconuts or Scottie dogs etc. When we had waffles, it was normally Belgium style, my husband’s favourite, with syrup; but the trusty machine disappeared one day – so we were waffleless for years.
Our new machine is a Hamilton Beach® Waffle Maker. One afternoon, a friend (Parm) and I decided to experiment a little. I had a tube of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls so we started with them. One standard rule – always use plenty of cooking spray.
Cinnamon Roll Waffles
Place Pillsbury ‘roll’ on each section of the waffle plate and only 3 min. to bake. What could be easier? We drizzled the icing and voila! If you find the icing that comes with these rolls a little stiff or too sweet, you can warm it in the microwave with a little milk; this gives you a pourable glaze instead of a blob of icing.
Brownie Waffles
We used a simple box of brownie mix; our first batch was disappointing, we forgot the egg – it pays to read the instructions. After remedying that by adding egg we spooned the batter onto the sprayed waffle plate, close the iron and in just 3 minutes, had brownies. We finished with a dusting of icing sugar, but you can dress it up as a Sundae by adding a scoop of ice cream and maybe a little drizzle of chocolate sauce.
Belgian Waffle
These are made from scratch so a little more effort goes into them – but well worth it.
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
3 ½ tsps. Baking powder
2 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups milk
1 cup melted butter – don’t sweat it, you don’t eat them every day and they’re sooo good.
1 tsp Vanilla
Makes 6 waffles.
Instructions:
Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder.
Beat the egg yolks lightly and mix in the milk, melted butter and vanilla.
Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold them into the batter.
Spoon onto the heated ‘sprayed’ plate and bake until the batter stops steaming – usually 7-8 minutes.
Keep the waffles warm in the oven until all are finished – makes 6 in the machine.
My husband loves these served with maple syrup. I like them plain just eaten like a cookie, or with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit.
Waffle Irons are very versatile. You can use them to make hash browns and crab cakes. Make Panini’s or try croissant dough waffles topped with heated, canned chili and cheese or quesadillas using tortillas, leftover ham or chicken and a little cheese.
This is a great way to get the kids involved in cooking. They can make their own cookies or muffins with a few simple ingredients and a package of mix. No muss or fuss, no oven, baking trays, muffin tins or burnt little fingers. it’s a good way to introducing them to food prep. As I mentioned we used a brownie mix. You can use a package or tube of cookie dough, muffin, cake or cornbread mix. As long as you use lots of cooking spray and a stiff batter, results are always good.
Watch for the next installment – Practically Perfect Paninis.
