Waffles! (gluten free, of course!)

There’s a lot of protein packed into this recipe. Tips & toppings are at the end!

Ingredients:

3 beaten eggs

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp golden flax meal

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp oil

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup oat flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of cream of tartar

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Instructions:

Use a large mixing bowl to combine the first five ingredients. Whisk together. Then add the milk and oil, whisking again until fully incorporated. (You do not want strings of egg in this batter that didn’t get mixed in. This is the voice of experience speaking.)

In a separate bowl, combine the rice flour, oat flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and cinnamon if you are using it. Sift these ingredients together with a whisk or spoon and then add all of it to the egg mixture. Once again, whisk well until a smooth batter is formed (no large lumps).

But to my surprise and delight, this one makes perfect waffles every single time! Here are a few tips that I have collected along the way that may or may not contribute to the perfectness of these waffles:

Set the batter aside and preheat your waffle iron. At this point you can defer to the waffle iron’s instructions and start making waffles. Or you can keep reading and find out what works for me.

I am on my second waffle iron. The first one – an expensive one – made me so frustrated that I finally just threw it away. It seemed like no matter what I did, the waffles stuck to the inside of the waffle iron and had to be scraped out in chunks, leaving portions of the waffle stuck to the inside. This is particularly maddening in an appliance that you can’t submerge in dish water to soak off the burned-on batter.

I am currently using the $9.99 special that I picked up at HEB (our Texas supermarket chain for those of you who are not blessed to live near one). I figured that if it worked as poorly as the first one, at least I wouldn’t have too much invested in it.

  • 1) Preheat the waffle iron.
  • 2) Do NOT use non-stick cooking spray.
  • 3) If you like, you can put a tiny sliver of butter in to melt before the batter but don’t use too much or it just makes a mess.
  • 4) Do not overfill the waffle iron. Remember, during cooking, the waffle is going to rise up to fill all the little squares. If you totally fill all the squares with raw batter, it will just ooze out the sides and make a mess in an appliance that, once again, cannot be submerged for cleaning.
  • 5) As soon as you pour the batter in, close the lid and flip the waffle maker over (assuming yours is the flippable kind.)
  • 6) I use a wooden spatula to gently pry the baked waffle out of the machine if it doesn’t fall right out when I lift the lid.

Waffle irons come in different sizes with different depths of little squares in them. For mine, one standard sized soup ladle of batter is just about the perfect amount of raw batter to pour in. If you aren’t sure how much to start with, it’s best to go with a lesser amount in the beginning so you don’t overfill it and make a mess.

After I pour the batter in, I close the lid, latch it, and immediately flip the waffle iron over. At about one minute and 45 seconds, I flip the waffle iron back to the original position, leaving the lid closed. For my particular style of waffle maker, three minutes total seems to be about the perfect cooking time. If you lift the lid and it doesn’t look done enough, you can gently close the lid and cook it a little longer. I would not try this if you have removed the waffle.

I have found that a wooden spatula is an excellent tool to help loosen the waffle if it doesn’t come right out when I lift the lid to the waffle iron. A fork or metal spatula can damage the non-stick surface and I’m thinking the inside is a little too hot for a rubber spatula.

Some notes on the ingredients:

You don’t have to mix oat and rice flour – you could choose just one or the other. But I personally think the blend has both the best flavor and texture.

I like to make my own oat flour in the coffee grinder. I simply measure out 1/2 cup of whole gluten free oats and pulse them until they are ground up.

If you don’t have cream of tartar, you can skip it. The reason it is in the recipe is to help make a nice, crispy edge to the waffles.

Time Savers:

These waffles freeze well or you can keep them in the fridge for up to one week. Put them in the toaster oven or under the broiler to reheat. Watch them closely so that they don’t burn.

If you want to make them fresh in the morning but feel like you may be short on time, you can combine all of the dry ingredients the night before. Then, add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and oil while the waffle iron preheats in the morning.

Topping ideas:

You can always go with good ol’ maple syrup. But other favorite toppings are peanut butter; a sauce of cooked fruit such as berries or apples thickened with a little cornstarch; and my personal favorite: fresh strawberries and blue berries mixed with sweetened sour cream. To prepare the sour cream, mix 1 cup sour cream, 1 Tbsp sugar, and a few drops of vanilla. This should make enough for the whole family (unless you hide somewhere with a spoon and eat it all….).

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