waffles for the freezer

We like waffles. Lots of kinds of waffles.  My favorite traditional waffle recipe is the rich buttermilk waffle recipe from Smitten Kitchen's website.  But waffles are not very practical when you are cooking for one.  So I have been making a batch of waffles and then freezing the extras and warming them up in my toaster, just like the frozen waffles that you buy at the store.  But homemade.  With no added preservatives.  I have been sharing my homemade frozen waffles with my parents and they are liking them too.  So today I made a big batch (quadruple batch) and spent a couple hours making waffles and now I have a bunch of waffles cooling which will soon be ready to freeze.

They are so easy to mix up.  Here is my great big stoneware bowl with the dry ingredients.

Add in the wet ingredients, which are the buttermilk, yolks, melted butter and vanilla.

And then add in the stiffly beaten egg whites.

I use a waffle ladle to portion out my waffle batter.  Here is a waffle hot off the waffle iron, ready for a little butter and syrup or strawberries and whipped cream or even just a sprinkle of powdered sugar. 

And the best part is next week or next month I can have one just like it out of my toaster without the mess in less than a minute. 

An added benefit is that this makes it a bit easier for portion control.  There isn't a plate of extra waffles tempting you to have just one more.  Since this is that time of year when lots of people are re-energized about eating better I ran this thru a recipe calculator and discovered that this particular recipe made in my round waffle maker makes 32 waffles and each waffle is 220 calories, 28 carbs, 8 fat, 7 protein, 505 sodium and 4 sugar. 


 I usually freeze mine with a sheet of parchment paper between the layers.  One time I had a little bit of trouble with them sticking together even with the parchment and I attributed that to packing while they were still warm so I am letting them cool completely before boxing them up.

This box is the one that will be going to my folks for their freezer. 

Or possibly this one since it is a little bit bigger.

 I will check and see which fits better in their freezer. 

Waffles for the freezer

8 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp salt

8 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp baking soda

1/2 gallon lowfat buttermilk

8 eggs, separated

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled

2 tsp vanilla

Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine the buttermilk, egg yolks, butter and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients.  Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold into the batter.  Oil the waffle iron if needed, and then preheat and bake the waffles following the instructions of your waffle maker. 

Adapted from this recipe.