Live the Live ™

My daughter wanted something special for breakfast a few Saturdays ago, and she brought a ready-to-mix box of Belgian waffle mix out of the cupboard. I read the instructions, and it required using the entire box, which made 10 gigantic waffles…way too much for us to eat in one sitting!

 

I figured there had to be a homemade Belgian waffle recipe somewhere online, and using ingredients I already had at home. The Food Network’s Alton Brown is usually my go-to source for recipes like this, and sure enough, he had a waffle recipe. But it used buttermilk and whole wheat pastry flour, neither of which I had in my pantry or fridge. Alton’s recipe would have to wait for another day.

I finally found one that used regular milk instead of buttermilk. I combined organic all-purpose flour with organic whole wheat flour; I like the richness in flavor whole wheat flour brings.

I try to always use organic unbleached flours, because wheat is another one of those crops that gets blasted with pesticides and chemicals in both growing and processing.

 

 

*Separating eggs*
I like to take 2 small bowls and place them on the counter. I take an egg and crack it on a flat surface, which reduces the chance of a shell fragment getting into the egg. Going back and forth between eggshell halves, the yolk stays in the shell while the whites drip down into one of the bowls. The clean yolk goes in the other bowl. Repeat with the other egg.

It’s important to remember that you CAN have a little egg white with your yolk. It won’t hurt anything. BUT…you can NOT have any yolk with your egg whites! The whites will not whip up if there’s even the tiniest bit of yolk in them!

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-heat the waffle iron, spraying it with cooking spray. (I like to use a high-smoking point oil like avocado oil.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and wheat flour, the sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.

Carefully separate the eggs whites from the yolks, placing the yolks in a bowl with the milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.

Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. (I don’t have a hand mixer, so I used my stand mixer for this job.)

 

Add the yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Next, fold the egg whites carefully into the bowl. You should have a beautiful, light airy batter, that has a wonderful cinnamon fragrance.

 

 

Pour the batter into the hot waffle iron (according to your iron’s directions.)

 

 

Serve the waffles immediately with butter, syrup, fruit, whipped cream, or anything else you love!