Crispy Overnight Waffles

Before I was invited over to Guestblogger Eric's house for brunch, I was completely unaware how delicious a waffle could be. The crisp outer texture was in contrast to the almost melting interior and I knew that I would be ruined for any other waffle from that moment forward. Thanks to Eric for this great post and for sharing this recipe with all of us! --A Crafty Lass

For his birthday, ten years ago, I got my partner a waffle iron. He is an expert pancake maker, and regularly makes me fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Since I didn’t want this to turn into a gift that was really for me, I told him that I would be the one in charge of the waffles in our life.

I experimented with many different recipes, finally settling upon a variation from Julee Rosso’s & Sheila Lukins’s “The New Basics.” Their recipe yields a classic buttermilk waffle, which is golden and tangy, and has a touch of whole-wheat flour—a great foil for maple syrup. We ate these, very happily, for years.

But our waffle lives changed forever when I tried Mark Bittman’s recipe for yeasted overnight waffles in “How to Cook Everything.” These waffles were a revelation: incredibly crispy and feather light. The only downside was that they felt too much like dessert to me because they called for vanilla, white sugar and white flour.

My current recipe is a hybrid of the two recipes, which makes them light and crispy but still retains some of the earthiness. When autumn arrives I look forward to getting the waffle iron out and making more birthday presents for my man. (And me. Let’s be honest, it was a present for both of us.)

For 5 or 6 waffles:

• ½ teaspoon instant yeast
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Canola, or other neutral oil for brushing on waffle iron
• 2 eggs

Before going to bed, combine the dry ingredients and stir in the milk, then the butter. The mixture will be loose. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in your oven with the oven light on.

In the morning, brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it. Separate the eggs and stir the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter. Do not overmix. It’s okay if there are clouds of whites that are not integrated into the mixture.

Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until done. It’s best if you serve them immediately, but if you can’t do that, they’ll keep in the oven for a few minutes.

Serve with maple syrup. And for heaven’s sake, make sure the syrup is hot.