Here we come a waffling...

This morning I was woken up by my two sunshines. Zander had an armful of Thomas trains and wanted to show me. Abigail had her cookbook in hand and said "Mommy, I want to make these." And pointed to a picture of waffles. Okay, give me a few minutes. By the time I had rolled myself out of bed, and made my way downstairs, Abigail had changed her mind. She was busy playing computer games, and did not want to help make waffles. Okay then, I won't be making waffles. This was good though, because I had earmarked a new recipe for Oatmeal Muffins this morning. Alysha at The Savory Notebook has organized a virtual cooking club, and this month the challenge is Whole Grain Breakfast Items. I admit
to seriously lacking in this department, so it is a good challenge for me. It is an added bonus if the item is portable. And for me, there is nothing better for breakfast than a muffin. On to the oatmeal muffins. This was a recipe from The Ultimate Muffin Book, and I had such high hopes for it. I was a little leary about making them, but the description boasted of the fact that these mufins tasted like an oatmeal cookie. That sold me.

Can I just say blech? Ugh. The muffins were simply awful. You could taste the leavening. The acidic/metallic taste of the baking powder and baking soda completely overwhelmed the muffin, and the mere 1/2 cup of brown sugar just didn't cut it. These weren't even remotely sweet. So into the garbage they went, and the day started off on a terrible note.

On to the dinner hour. Finally we were getting to the waffles. The picture up above is of my two helpers. Despite the lack of a smile from either of them, they had a great time mixing up the batter for the waffles. Abigail had charge of the dry ingredients, plus cracking the eggs. Zander had charge of the wet ingredients. They both felt important with their own special jobs to do. Zander really wants to do some scooping- but right now he is relegated to adding pre-scooped ingredients and stirring. It's safer for everyone this way. :-)

The waffle recipe we tried tonight was a new one, and it will be our waffle recipe from now on. It was perfect. The perfect amount of crispness on the outside, chewiness on the inside, and great flavor to boot. The is the second recipe I have made out of The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. Both recipes have been fantastic, so I will have to try more out of this book. Until then, here is the recipe for Classic Buttermilk Waffles.

Classic Buttermilk Waffles

makes about 10 8-inch waffles

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pecan meal (optional)

In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; combine the wet and dry ingredients just until smooth.

Spray the waffle iron with a nonstick cooking spray before preheating it. For an 8-inch round waffle, use about 1/3 cup batter. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the iron stops steaming.