Description
This homemade waffle recipe from scratch produces light, fluffy, and delicious waffles perfect for breakfast or brunch. Using simple pantry ingredients like flour, eggs, milk, and butter, these waffles combine a tender crumb with a crispy exterior. The technique of folding beaten egg whites into the batter ensures an airy texture. Ideal to serve with syrup, fresh fruit, or cinnamon honey butter, these waffles also reheat well and can be frozen for convenient future meals.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 & 3/4 cup whole milk or buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, separated
Dry Ingredients
- 1 & 3/4 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat butter and milk: In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the stick of butter and the milk or buttermilk. Microwave for 1-2 minutes until the butter is half melted, then stir until completely melted.
- Add vanilla extract: Stir in the vanilla extract to the warm milk and butter mixture.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt until combined.
- Separate eggs: Separate the egg whites from the yolks, placing the whites in a stand mixer bowl or medium bowl for beating.
- Combine yolks and wet ingredients: Add the egg yolks to the milk and butter mixture and stir until blended.
- Add dry ingredients to wet: Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix just until you can see some streaks of flour still visible; avoid overmixing to ensure tender waffles.
- Beat egg whites: Using a stand mixer or hand beater, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, which usually takes 2-5 minutes.
- Fold in egg whites: Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the batter until just incorporated, avoiding lumps or overly soupy spots for best texture.
- Cook waffles: Preheat your waffle iron and pour in batter according to your waffle iron’s instructions. Cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden and crisp.
- Keep waffles warm: If not serving immediately, preheat oven to 170°F (keep warm), place a cooling rack inside, and set cooked waffles on the rack to prevent sogginess.
- Serving suggestions: Serve waffles hot with toppings such as cinnamon honey butter, syrup, or fresh fruit. They pair excellently with oven-fried bacon and scrambled eggs for a hearty breakfast.
- Storing and reheating: Waffles freeze well—double or triple the batch and store extras in a ziplock bag in the freezer. To reheat, simply toast them in a toaster for the best texture.
Notes
- Do not overmix the batter once dry ingredients are added—lumps and streaks are fine to keep waffles tender.
- Beating egg whites until stiff peaks form adds airiness that results in light waffles.
- Keeping cooked waffles on a cooling rack in a low oven prevents them from becoming soggy before serving.
- These waffles freeze beautifully and can be reheated from frozen in a toaster for convenience.
- Using buttermilk instead of milk adds tang and helps tenderize the batter but is optional.
