Fluffy Belgian Waffles

So you're enjoying yourself on your family vacation. Having a great time with your loved ones. The hotel you're staying at serves breakfast or a restaurant nearby does. You see it on the menu. "Belgian Waffles." If you're anything like me, that immediately draws your attention. You can smell them from a mile away. The server brings you your plate and all you see are stacks of crispy, fluffy waffles dripping with the dark amber syrup. You take your first bite and you know, nothing else matters right now. Great memories and great food. If only you could capture it somehow. I had this experience on a trip I went on recently. My hotel served breakfast and every morning, I would get eggs or waffles. It was a great experience. When I came back home, I wanted to re-create that and I think I did with these fluffy Belgian waffles.

REASONS YOU SHOULD TRY THIS RECIPE:

• fluffy interior and crispy exterior
• great flavor
• the perfect breakfast or brunch waffle

HOW TO MAKE MY Fluffy Belgian Waffles:

• First, sift all the dry ingredients together. Remember sugar is considered a wet ingredient so leave that to the side for now. We'll be using that for the meringue.
• Second, combine all the wet ingredients. The yolks, vanilla, oil and milk. Stir until combined. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry.

• Then, fold in the dry ingredients until most lumps are gone. Some lumps and flour should be visible. That's fine. Let the batter sit for about five minutes.

• Next, whip the egg whites to a stiff peak to make a meringue. It's best to use a stand mixer, but a hand mixer will work too. I start on high and end on high. When you start to see tracks, that's when you should gradually add in the sugar that we put aside earlier. It should look something like this when finished. You want stiff, moist peaks. Don't overbeat! Set the meringue aside.

• Preheat your waffle iron to medium-high to high heat according to the manufacturer's instructions. Spray the inside well with cooking spray.
• While the iron is preheating, you can add in the meringue you made and fold it into the batter gently.

• The proper way to fold in a meringue is to go from the bottom to the top in a circular motion while turning the bowl. Fold in until the meringue is well blended with the batter.

• According your machine's manufacturer's instructions, set everything to the settings you think will work. Finally, pour in ¾-1 cup of batter at a time. Cook for a few minutes on the first side, flip, and cook for a few minutes on the next side. The waffle should be golden brown and crispy. My waffle iron takes about 5-10 minutes total to cook each waffle. Play with your heat setting and timing. Once you nail that, you'll get golden crisp waffles every time.

• What's important is practice. Your first waffle won't turn out that good. You have to know the settings of your machine to get a perfectly golden waffle. My Waring model is perfect when it's set to 5 heat setting. I cook the first side for about five minutes then flip it. When it beeps, I flip it and let it cook for another two minutes. This gets me perfectly golden waffles every time. Remember to play with your timing and the machine's heat settings.

• These waffles are perfect! Everything a waffle should be. Slightly crispy/crunchy, yet fluffy on the inside. You can of course put some chocolate chips in the batter, put some butter on top, whipped cream, cinnamon, etc. I decided to put a pinch of cinnamon and drizzle it with a homemade strawberry sauce.

MORE GREAT BRUNCH RECIPES:

Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

Flaky Buttermilk Scones

Mini Bread Puddings