Banana Walnut Waffles

This was shocking to me, but I’ve never posted a waffle recipe on Macheesmo. This is numero uno. And yes, that means that I frequently forget what recipes I’ve actually posted and have to look through the archives.

Waffles fall cleanly into the category of foods that I don’t understand why mixes exist for them. Sure, you can go to the store, buy a waffle mix, add some eggs/milk/etc. and produce a fantastic waffle. Or you can mix together a few dry ingredients that you probably have on hand, save a few bucks, and end up with, most likely, a better finished product.

What’s great about this recipe is that it’s very flexible. You can substitute different flours (rice/oat/whole wheat) and tons of different add-ins. I went with banana and walnut because I had those around, but seriously almost any fruit or nut would rock in these guys.

The Batter

The great thing about making a batter like this from scratch is that you can sort of customize it to your liking. At the same time, because of these customizations you might need to adjust it a bit.

For example, these are the dry ingredients I used. I thought oat flour was a nice touch.

Depending on the flour you use, you might need more or less milk because different flours will absorb different amounts of milk.

Don’t freak out about it. Just start with the recipe I gave above and if your batter is too thin or two thick, you can always adjust it by adding a bit more milk or flour.

Start by just mixing all your dry ingredients in a bowl and your wet ingredients (butter/milk/eggs) in a separate bowl.

Then whisk your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. The batter should be a tiny bit thicker than pancake batter which means that it should be thick, but not clumpy or dry at all.

The fun part of the batter is the add-ins. These were my add-ins of choice for the day.

Making the waffles

Heat up your waffle maker until it’s ready. Most waffle makers will have a light saying when they are hot enough. Give the waffle maker a quick spray with some non-stick spray or rub it down with a paper towel lightly covered with oil.

Depending on the size of your waffle maker, you might have to adjust the amount of batter you use. For mine, a heaping half cup of batter per waffle worked great.

When in doubt, add more batter. Worse case scenario it will squirt out the sides as it cooks which isn’t a big deal.

You can kind of see the consistency of my batter in the above photo. It’s thick enough that it doesn’t flow easily, but it’s definitely not dry.

When you close it down, they’re will be some steam and probably some extra batter that will make a big mess.

It’s cool though. Just let it happen!

Again, depending on your waffle iron and the amount of batter you use, your waffles might take a different amount of time to cook. Mine took about 5 minutes per batch.

You’re looking for a waffle that’s nice and crunchy and golden brown on the outside while still being moist on the inside.

Serve these guys with butter, syrup, honey, or your favorite jams.

These are pretty quick to make and really delicious. The bonus fact about waffles is that they actually freeze really well. Just make sure they are completely cool, then store them in the freezer in a freezer bag.

When you want a waffle, just heat it up in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes and it’ll be almost as good as new!

If anyone has any good ideas for other add-ins or flours to use in these guys, leave a comment!