Our Favorite Waffle Recipe

We've settled into a routine over here more or less -- have you? The general angst about not being able to go anywhere flares up often but we're managing (one of my favorite Aussie expressions). A bit of distance learning in the morning, lunch, "quiet time" (or, please don't talk to any adult for 45 minutes unless it is a dire emergency), play time outside for the rest of the afternoon. We're nearly done with the "Little House" series and have a choice of Pippi in the South Seas or Charlotte's Web next. We're muddling through one day at a time. We're making waffles.

Thing is, the weekend arrives and it doesn't look a whole lot different than the weekdays. So, usually on Saturday morning, I make waffles as a sort of marker of a "non school/work day". There's no enforcement of quiet time. Sometimes we wear pajamas until noon or later. Waffles have become a de facto lunch on weekend late mornings to bridge the gap between early morning oatmeal (and snacks - dear gd, the snacking is out of hand!) and dinner at 4:45 in the afternoon (welcome to my life). So in that sense not much has changed other than I've committed to waffle as an acceptable meal (I like mine topped with a generous butter knife swipe of peanut butter particularly if I've had some exercise beforehand), with balance coming in the form of maple syrup and maybe a serving of fresh fruit. Hey, these are trying times!

I have a favorite waffle recipe and I am not deviating from it - no substitutions, no trying something new, no fooling around. It calls for two cups of whole wheat flour and I am only going to start using all purpose because I can't find any more whole wheat flour -- otherwise, it's all whole wheat all the way. Counting the time to melt the butter I can probably whisk the batter together in less than 5 minutes. And I love making waffles because unlike pancakes you don't have to hover over the pan with the stove fan blasting to counter the inevitable burned bits.

These are light, a little buttery and a lot wholesome. You'll get a hit of protein from the Greek yogurt and the whole grains are, of course, always preferable. Cook your waffles a tiny bit longer than you think you should -- just 10-20 seconds -- and they will be lightly crisp and perfect. Serve immediately to hungry children who, though they've probably just eaten an hour ago, will be famished and may finish their first before you've had time to cook the second round. Repeat repeat repeat.

[print_this]Whole Grain Waffles, adapted from yummytoddlerfood.com

You can use coconut oil in place of the butter here and all-purpose flour if you absolutely cannot find any whole wheat flour.

Makes about 12 waffles.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour (or spelt flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup low fat Greek yogurt
1 large egg
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups milk (I use 2%) plus a few more tablespoons to thin the batter if needed

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, egg, melted butter, vanilla and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir thoroughly to combine.

Warm the waffle iron and when it is ready, scoop ¼ cup of the batter and place in the center of the waffle iron. Close lid and cook until done.

Repeat with the remaining batter to finish the batch; you may need to add a bit of milk if the batter becomes very thick. Waffles may be frozen or stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. [/print_this]