Happy Waffle Day!

On Waffle Day, you can have waffles for breakfast, lunch or dinner! It’s also the only day of the year that we are actually waffling a traditional waffle. Celebrate with us by making Buttermilk Cornmeal Waffles from Will It Waffle? 

Iron: Belgian or standard | Time: 23 minutes | Yield: 4 to 6 waffles; serves 4

Here’s the thing about buttermilk: You probably don’t keep it on hand at all times, but you’re making a mistake. It holds for a long time. What? Did you think it was going to go sour? And while there are limited applications for it, once you have it, it’s easy to find excuses to use it up. So you will get the buttermilk because you want to make waffles (or pancakes). . . and then you will make more waffles (or pancakes) because you have more buttermilk. Buttermilk works well in this recipe because it yields slightly tangy waffles. Chances are, everything you put on the waffles will be sweet, so this recipe will bring that into balance. Even the little bit of cornmeal lends the waffles a golden hue and a slight corny flavor and crunch. Yes, whipping the egg whites is an extra step, but it takes about 90 seconds to do and it makes a huge difference. Don’t skip that part.

Ingredients:

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup finely ground cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1¾ cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Butter and maple syrup, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat the waffle iron on medium. Preheat the oven on its lowest setting.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla.

3. In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks.

4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients while gently mixing. Then gold the egg whites into the batter.

5. Coat both sides of the waffle iron grid with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the waffle iron, close the lid, and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Remove the waffle. To keep it warm, place it on a wire rack in the oven. Repeat Step 5 to make the rest of the waffles.

7. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Tip:

If you enjoy having buttermilk in the house for pancakes, waffles, or waffled hamburger buns, but don’t use it often enough to justify buying a quart, consider powdered buttermilk, which is available online and in the baking aisle of some grocery stores.

Will It Waffle? is available wherever books are sold including the following online retailers:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Powell’s | Workman