Good Ol' Plain Waffles

It all started with a deal. On the Saturday when I was still sick, we were jam-packed at home. It was only half past two in the afternoon, barely two hours since we had our Korean barbecue lunch, when we were talking about what to have for snacks. I can't remember who brought up the idea of pancakes which eventually became waffles when mom mentioned we have a waffle-maker. We do??? I can only remember the sandwich maker which made the best melted cheese sandwiches ever when we were still kids more than 20 years ago. I never knew we have a waffle maker, so I asked mom to bring it out just to make sure it's for real. So there goes the deal - I have to make waffles if she finds the waffle maker. And she did. As it was really scorching hot and no one wants to lose his/her place in the air-conditioned room, I asked if it's okay to use a pancake mix. They agreed, as long as the waffles are crisp on the outside. Then mom threw in the idea that since we still have the sugar rock crystals we bought in Vietnam, we can have our version of Belgian waffles.

I have nothing against boxed mixes as they are supposed to be convenient, especially if you want to prepare something safe, quick and easy and all you have to do is to be creative with the add-ins. But after checking every shelf of our pantry, we actually ran out of boxes of pancake mix. Oh no... Everyone is set to have waffles for snacks. So, there's no other choice but to make waffles from scratch. Good thing I always have stocks of baking needs in case I have cupcake or cake orders to make.

Again, thanks to Feastie, searching for good waffle recipes wasn't a hassle. The one from Mother Thyme caught my eye (and my tastebuds are also imagining how the waffle will taste based on the ingredients). I just tweaked it a bit as I want to use the makeshift buttermilk instead of plain whole milk.

Good Ol' Plain Waffles
(adapted from Mother Thyme)
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar plus whole milk to bring them together to 2 cups altogether
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Butter for cooking
Roughly crushed sugar crystals

1. In your liquid measuring cup, pour one tablespoon apple cider vinegar then fill it up with milk until it reaches to 2 cups. Set it aside to curdle for a few minutes.

2. Sift the flour in a mixing bowl. Then add all the remaining dry ingredients - sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix them altogether until all the dry ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. Make a well in the dry mixture then add in the curdled milk with apple cider vinegar, melted butter, vanilla extract and eggs. Mix until smooth.

4. Heat up your waffle maker and brush each side with butter. Pour the batter onto your waffle maker. Before closing it down, sprinkle a generous amount of roughly crushed sugar crystals. Most waffle makers come with a light indicator that will go off once the waffles are done. If your waffle maker doesn't have this light indicator, a sure sign that your waffle is done is when the steam it creates while cooking has stopped. Ours came with the light indicator, and each batch (2 waffles per batch) are done in about 5-7 minutes. And if you don't have any waffle maker at all, just cook it similar to how you cook normal pancakes.

We had to double the recipe considering everybody is hungry and eagerly waiting for crunchy waffles. The sugar crystals made our waffles crunchier, just like Belgian waffles. Just when the waffles were served, everyone dove in and nothing was left for photos with what we had along with it - butter, generous dollops of Nutella and bacon on the side that the kids requested when they found out we're having waffles. Any add-ins - maple syrup, whipped cream with fresh fruits, caramel syrup, ice cream - are also good.

Though next time, I'll be fast enough to stash a waffle or two just for photo purposes. Seriously, the smallest boy {cutie Anton} kept on checking us out in the kitchen (and poking me from behind if he knew I wasn't looking) hoping that he can have his share ahead of the rest. As one of the kids put it (and he had to get everyone's attention so that we can hear him), it's not good, it DELICIOUS! {Thank you, Hans}

These freshly cooked waffles were enjoying peace for a few photo ops. Minutes later, they are all gone.
Not even one was left so that we can take a nice picture of it with butter, Nutella and bacon for this post. :s