It's the dead of winter and without fail, I find myself craving something warm and delicious for breakfast daily. While oatmeal is always the healthy breakfast of choice, there are times (especially Saturday mornings) where I can't resist whipping up a batch of delicious homemade waffles to enjoy with my husband while watching TV in our pajamas. So for today's post (and my list of this month's kitchen tools) I wanted to share my waffle making essentials with you all. Whether you are making classic, belgian or even Funfetti (pictured above) these tools and tips will help you achieve waffle making perfection.
Waffle Iron
When it comes to selecting a waffle iron, here are a few things to consider:
- Shape - Round, Square or Novelty Shaped
- Style - Belgian or Classic. Each style of waffle requires a different recipe, and the size of the waffle iron will correlate to the style waffle. Belgian waffles are thicker and fluffier, so the waffle iron will be larger and often is double the size of a standard iron. A classic waffle, while still delicious is thinner both in size of the waffle and waffle iron.
- Capacity - Waffle irons come in half and whole sizes, so it's important to determine if you are going to be using your waffle iron primarily for single serve use or to feed a family.
I am all about a classic waffle, so I opted for the All-Clad Classic Round Waffle Maker. It's user friendly, offers a variety of cooking settings and produces waffles with perfectly browned and crisp exteriors and fluffy soft interiors every time! This waffle iron is also great for cooking up french toast (pictured above) in a snap with little to no mess!.
Waffle Tongs
Waffle tongs are not something you typically think about when you're getting ready to make waffles, but you should. Reason being, when it comes time to take the waffle off of the iron, people tend to resort to using forks or metal tongs which can and will scratch the nonstick surface of the waffle iron. Scratches on nonstick metal surfaces will cause your food to stick and ultimately produce an imperfect/damaged product for every use. These Williams-Sonoma Ultimate Waffle Tongs are great for removing waffles from a waffle iron, cooking paninis and even flipping bacon on a skillet! Heat resistant, safe to use on most cookware and best of all, dishwasher safe! In my opinion, every kitchen should be outfitted with a pair of waffle tongs.
Cookie Scoop
When it comes to pouring the batter onto the waffle iron, I am all about using my cookie scoop. Sure, there are plenty of batter dispensing devices on the market (like this one), but in my opinion, they take up a lot of storage space and at the end of the day, really only serves a single purpose. Using a cookie scoop allows you to create waffles of various sizes and can also be used for pouring cupcake batter and of course the obvious…cookies!!! The cookie scoop is a fabulous waffle making tool, affordable and of course, its also dishwasher safe!
Waffle Book
I received the book, Waffles: Sweet & Savory Recipes for Every Meal by: Tara Duggan, as a gift for our wedding. I didn't think much of it at first. It was a nice book about waffles, but I mean how much could they really have to say about one food? Of course, as soon as I opened the book I immediately ate my words! This book not only has the most fabulously delicious waffle recipes, but it also teaches you how to go about making waffles from scratch (which has been life changing for me). For those of you who have never experienced a waffle made from scratch, you are missing out! They are packed with flavor, moist, fluffy and will put any box mix to shame. If you have a chance to flip through this book, please do! It has been a waffle making game changer for me and I think if you have the chance to read it, you will agree!
