I have been on a search for the best waffle that is light and crispy and guess what? I found it. It’s Pam Anderson’s Light and Crispy Waffle from her cookbook Cook Smart. After reading the reviews from Food and Wine and Fine Cooking I knew that I couldn’t go wrong. I put it to the test in my classroom and they loved it, too.
After doing quite a lot of reading on the science of cooking waffles I’ve learned that I have been making waffles all the wrong way! So here is the low down on making waffles the perfect way.
- Use a 3:1 ratio of flour to cornstarch. That’s correct – cornstarch. I was puzzled, too. After being bombarded in the blogosphere with recipe after recipe using cornstarch I had to try it for myself. The reason it works you ask? Most steam causes the average waffle to soften. Cornstarch causes the waffle not to let it escape resulting in a crisper texture.
- Separating the egg yolk from the egg white and beating the egg white separately. This is a little more trouble, but well worth it. And if you are novice cook you can handle it. All my neewbies this semester did a great job their first time! If you are not sure how to separate eggs and beat egg whites you can find the info on a guest blog that I wrote for Dinners and Dreams, How to Prepare Meringue for Pies and Puddings . The picture tutorials will get you through it.
- Add the sugar to the beaten egg whites and not to the dry ingredients as you would in most quick bread recipes. The sugar stabilizes the egg whites therefore producing more air making a crisper waffle.
- Use a liquid fat such as oil for a lighter batter resulting in a lighter waffle.
- Use a combination of milk and buttermilk. All buttermilk makes a thicker waffle batter yielding a heavier waffle.
- NEVER stack waffles! In seconds they will soften. Place them directly on the oven rack in a 2oo degree oven.
So there you go in a nutshell The PERFECT waffle for you to try and here is the recipe.
Light, Crisp Waffles by Pamela Anderson from Cook Smart
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup milk ( I used whole milk)
- 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, separated
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Heat the oven to 200 degrees and heat the waffle iron.
- Mix the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- Measure the buttermilk, milk, and vegetable oil in a medium glass measuring cup or put in a medium mixing bowl.
- Separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Place the egg white in a high sided mixing bowl.
- Mix the egg yolk with the milk and oil mixture.
- Beat the egg white almost to soft peaks. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to beat until the peaks are firm and glossy. Beat in the vanilla.
- Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Do not go crazy mixing! Over beaten batter results in heavy waffles. Just blend the ingredients. It is OK to see little wisps of flour.
- Drop the whipped egg white onto the batter in dollops (tablespoons) and fold in with a spatula until just incorporated. Check out the photo below showing how the batter should look.
- Pour the batter onto a hot waffle iron. The amount of batter will depend on the waffle iron.
- Cook until the waffle is crisp and brown. Watch the waffle iron carefully when steam stops being released from the iron is a good sign that the waffle is ready.
- Set the waffle directly on the oven rack to keep it warm and crisp. Do not stack them.
- When all the waffles are cooked, serve immediately.
The batter looks like lumpy banana pudding. It is just right!
Now look at what my students did with this recipe.
1st Block Kitchen 1
1st Block Kitchen 2
1st Block Kitchen 3
1st Block Kitchen 4
1st Block Kitchen 5
1st Block Kitchen 6
2nd Block Kitchen 1
2nd Block Kitchen 2
2nd Block Kitchen 3
2nd Block Kitchen 4
2nd Block Kitchen 5
Happy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
The Teacher Cooks 
I love waffles. In fact, they’re one of my favorite cheat foods.
Yours look wonderful. Can’t wait to try Pam Anderson’s recipe!
i hate a limp waffle. if i wanted limp, i’d have a pancake! other than the pools of syrup that gather in the valleys of the waffle, the crispness is the draw for me!
I learned that when cleaning the waffle iron you only wipe out the inside and that you’re not suppose to clean it all the way .
I learned how to make waffles!! i always thought they were made exactly like pancakes but its a little more complex
I learned that you had to make meringue and whip it into the batter.
I learned that you have to be patient when making waffles. If you open your waffle iron to soon, your waffle will split!
I learned when your not using bisquick everything has to be exact
i learned how to clean a waffle iron!!
I learned if you put to much batter into the waffle iron it will make a mess, i also was very interested in learning how to make meringue and how to use it in making these delicious waffles.
i learned how to separate and cut in egg whites. these waffles were the best!
I learned how to beat egg whites.
I learned that making waffles isn’t really neither hard nor time consuming. In my group we added a little cinnamon which boosted the deliciousness!!
i learned to make a pretty golden waffle, you must put the right amount and give it time to cook on both sides.
I learned that you have to season the waffle maker before you place the waffle mix into it to prevent it from sticking.
Making these waffles taught me that when your making something with a lot of different ingredients you have to do everything exact and follow the directions!
I learned that if you overmix the batter the waffles will come out more softer than cruncy, which isn’t good.
i learned , that you always need to make sure you dont add to much of one Ingredients . because it wont come out the way it should .
I learned how to make waffles because I never have before
I learned that you can not get any of the egg yolk into the egg white or it wont work.
I learned how to beat egg whites and that they made the waffles fluffy.
i learned a new way to make walffles i had never before made waffles with whipped egg whites so i learned that i could do it that way
I learned that its much longer to make waffles than pancakes. there was a certain way you had to use the egg. By separating the yolk from the liquid part of and egg. Very good and crispy
I learned That when you make home made waffles and you cook them in the waffle maker you have to really watch or you will burn the waffles
alyssa
i learned that you can put the waffles in the oven to keep them warm after cooking them.
I enjoyed cooking the waffles, because I’ve never cooked them before. It was something new and something different. I also learned that you need a waffle iron to make waffles, and that you have to watch it carefully to know when they’re done cooking .
I learned that you have to put more batter into the waffle iron for it to make a whole waffle.
i learned how to make waffles and they are delcious.
i learned that you had to perfectly separate the white from the egg yolk, or else you wont be able to finish the recipe.
I learned that you can use egg white in making waffles and things. I thought you never used the egg white in recipes for things because I figured it was dangerous to eat. Also i learned that waffle irons didn’t have a timer on there. That you had to watch them carefully yourself.
i learned that you never wash the inside of a waffle iron, just around it or the waffles will stick!
ilearned when the egg whites are at soft peaks and when they are ready and stiff
i learned how to make waffles and use a waffle maker! and how to seperate the egg from the egg yolk.
While Mrs. Lupo was doing the demo for the waffles I learned that you grease your waffle iron when you first buy it. You only do this once. And you NEVER clean it! Yes, you clean the outside, but as for the inside, you only wipe it down. Also I learned that you dollop the egg white into the batter. It really makes a difference! (:
I learned to mix the sugar in with the egg,instead of with the dry ingredients.
i learned that a waffle is ready when it stops steaming around the waffle iron!
I learned how to separate an egg, and to not mix them too much.
I learned that when the batter looks lumpy, it is perfect ! You don’t want to over stir it
Must admit, Wanda, we are sold on Miriam Cunningham’s yeast waffles. However, if I had to choose by looks alone: 1st block kitchen 3 looks great.
I learned that waffles are easy to make and that they come out great if you beat the egg!
I LOVE waffles, i can honestly say their my food addiction. They turned out amazing and if i had the chance i would make them for my mother 🙂
i learned you need to make sure your waffle iron is greased before using it because if not you might end up have a messed up waffle, i also learned you need to not mixed the better to much or your waffles will come out wrong.
These waffles we made were very fun and easy to make! they were not to hard to mix together or anything! this recipe will also be used at my house alot bcause my family loves to eat waffles!
I learned that you have to grease the affle iron before putting in the batter to prevent the waffles from sticking. Also you have to make sure you don’t open the lid too soon or you’ll split the waffle.
I learned that you should not mix the batter too much or they won’t turn out right. I learned that the hard way!! Hahahahaha!!!!!!!
I learned that when making waffles you have to be very attentive to assure that they dont burn.
I have learned the first three words of almost every comment were identical.
No but seriously, the cornstarch signaled a question mark. Having used multiple waffle recipes and experimenting with proportions when comparing these recipes, not once did any list corn starch as an ingredient.
After reading your explanation and the science, it all makes sense.
And kudos to your format! not many blogs explain why recipes call for certain ingredients , a certain preparation, or the function of these variables in the recipe.
Thank you
I learned that over mixing batter will make it soft, not crunchy.
I learned that the sugar helps the egg whites to make the wafle crisper.
By beating the eggs, you are able to make your waffles fluffy.
i learned you need to greese the skillet enough to make sure the waffles dont stick!
During this demo, i learned how to seperate egg yolk from egg whites, and why it is important to first crack your egg in a seperate bowl in case there is something wrong with it.
YOU NEED TO FOLD THE WAFFLE MIX TO MAKE IT LIGHT AND AIRY.
They look really good and I didn’t know youcould use vanilla extract in it.
During the waffle demonstration I learned that it is okay for the batter to look lumpy because that means it is just right, before I always thought it had to be a smooth batter.
i learned that you should never stack waffles
These were really good! I learned that you should season a waffle iron before using it the first time, and that once a waffle iron is seasoned it shouldn’t be washed off, it should just be wiped out. 🙂
I learned your waffle iron should be seasoned when you first buy it
By doing this lab, I learned how to seperate the egg yolk from the egg white. I also learned that you must be careful when mixing the batter. You also have to be very attentive when the waffles are cooking to make sure they don’t burn.
If you use a lighter oil or fat the waffle itself will be lighter.
I learned to split an egg.
The waffles were not time cosuming nor hard to make, they also tasted decent. During this lab i learned how to seperate and egg white from the yolk.
I learned that when making waffles that you need to measure everything the exact way the recipe tells you to or they won’t come out right.
When we made waffles in our class they stuck but she taught us how to grease our pan so they didnt stick and didnt taste bad and it showed how you have to pay attention when cooking them cause they can burn fast and would not be as fluffy and delicious as they would be with a good time work schedule
I learned how to make waffles using a waffle maker.
i learned that you shouldnt stack waffles.
kaley 1st pd.- I learned that you should heat the oven as well as the waffle iron so that you can put the cooked waffles in there to keep them warm.
I learned that over cleaning the waffle iron can cause the removing of the seasoning on the iron to come off causing the waffle batter to stick.
I learned how to seperate an egg
When your cooking the waffles in order for them not too stick to the waffles maker, butter it use cooking oil.
When you are cooking the waffles in for them not too stick to the waffle maker use butter or cooking oil.
I learned that you don’t need to wipe off the excess batter before it is cooked or else it will just go everywhere.
I learned that if you have any leftover batter that is seeping out of the waffle maker, you should wait until it is done cooking to peel it off or you will make a mess.
When you made the waffles they were so good, and the crispiest waffles I’ve ever had! I learned that you can grease the waffle iron, and the reason they were so wispy was because of the egg whites that were spooned in.
What I learned from this is that you never stack waffles while baking them.
I learned that you should never stack waffles because they soften in seconds and you should immediatly put them on a cooling rack.
Use a liquid fat, such as oil to have a lighter fluffier waffle.
i learned that it is necessary to grease the waffle iron before use.
I learned that you shouldnt over mix the batter when you make it.
I learned that you have to mix the sugar in with the egg,instead of with the dry ingredients!!!!
I learned how to separate the egg white from the yoke. And that you just clean the inside of the waffle iron when your done using it
I loved these!! and i learned that egg whites are included in waffles- i never knew that!
If you stir it too much it will turn out really weird
I learned the simplicity of the waffle recipe, bascially how to make it.
I learned that you have to season the waffle iron before you put the waffles in so it will prevent it from sticking.
I learned how to fold
i learned how to fold so it makes it light and crispy
I learned a new way to make waffles with this recipe, and I have never heard of putting cornstarch in waffles.
I didn’t know you could put powder sugar on waffles instead of syrup.
i learned when i was supposed to take the waffle out
I leaerned that you have to out baking soda in them for them to come out correct
I learned that you never stack waffles
I learned that you use eggwhites to make these waffles fluffier.
i like how you can make them really fast!!!!
I learned that you have to time the waffles cooking time just right or they will come out wrong. i also learned not to over stir the batter.
I learned that in order to make waffles light and crisp you have to seperate the egg white from the egg yolk.
I learned that sugar stabilizes the egg whites which produces more air making a crisper waffle.
I learned that adding sugar while beating your egg whites makes for a crispier waffle.
I learned that you can use a liquid fat like oil to get lighter waffles.
i learned you are suppoose to seperate the egg yolk and the egg white.
After watching the demo on how to make the Light and Crispy Waffles, I learned you should use a 3:1 ratio of flour to cornstarch because cornstarch causes the waffle not to let it escape resulting in a crisper texture.
I learned that you need to separate the egg
I learned if you put to much batter into the waffle iron it will make a mess and that your waffle iron is supposed to be greased before using it.
i learned that you can use baking soda to make waffles
i learned that if you beat the ingrediants to much it will cause a heavy batter.
i learned that if you cook them to hard they will not taste right.
i learned that you have to pour the batter in the waffle maker evenly
I learned that if you over mix the batter the waffels will not be crunchy.
I learned how to seperate the egg yolk from the egg white.
i learned how to seperate an egg.
I learned that you should never stack waffles but put them on a cooling rack
I learned that egg whites get fluffy when you beat them
I love the crispness of waffles! and i learned if you open the waffle iron too early then its bad!
I learned that adding sugar to the beatened egg whites will stabalize the egg whites and makes more air.
I learned that you should never stack waffles.
I have found that these waffles are made light and crunchy, making them more enjoyable. I like that they can be made quickly and not too difficult.
I learned how to make them thin and crispy.
I learned to use a 3:1 ratio of flour to cornstarch, and to seperate the egg whites from the egg yolks in order to whip them correctly.
I learned how to make waffles!! i always thought they were made exactly like pancakes but its a little more complex
I learned that you have to season the waffle maker before you place the waffle mix into it so that it doesn’t stick.
I did not know you have to season the waffle maker before you place the waffle mix into it to prevent it from sticking. LIttle steps make a big difference.
You wanna use a 3:1 ratio of flour to corn startch to make your waffles crispy.
I learned how to whip egg whites for waffles
I learned that you should not over bet the batter because then the waffles will be heavy.
i learned you have to mesure evrything and u seperate the egg when ur making the waffle and u also over mix the batter to not make the waffles crunchy. thats what i learned on light waffles.
i learned you should separate the egg white & egg yolk
uses a different recipe if you want them to be crispy
Maddie l 3rd You should never stack waffles but instead put them on a cooling rack in the oven on 200 degrees
That if you stack them they will not be crispy like they would be if you placed on a cooling rack
You have to seperate the egg yolks.
learned that if you open your waffle iron to early your waffle will split
I learned that you should not stack waffles, how to separate an egg, and that you can use cornstarch.
I learned to separate the egg yolk from the egg white.
I learned how to beat egg whites.
In this recipe, i learned that overmixing the batter will cause the waffles to become more soft like pancakes and not crunchy as they should be.
I learned that you should use a combination of milk and buttermilk.
i learned that to get a lighter waffle you use a liquid oil for a lighter batter..
I learned that you are supposed to seperate the egg. Also that you should put the waffles on a cooling rack instead of stakc them.
i finally learned how to make waffles with out using the box
When your cooking the waffles in order for them not too stick to the waffles maker, butter it use cooking oil.
i learned that you should NEVER stack waffles! In seconds they will soften. Place them directly on the oven rack in a 2oo degree oven.
I learned that you need to separate the egg in a different bowl in case the shell goes in or there something wrong with it.
i learned that you need to season the waffle maker before putting the waffles in
I learned to use a liquid fat if you want your waffles to be lighter.
I learned that waffles arent made exactly like pancakes but its a little more complex.
I had no idea cornstarch could be used in cooking waffles,and that it would make them crispy.
You can use oil for a lighter batter reasulting in a lighter waffle.
I learned that it’s okay for the batter to not be super mixed because it makes for lighter waffles.
I learned that using cornstarch make the waffle crispy rather than soft.
I learned, by using a liquid fat such as oil, it results for a lighter batter.
I learned that you use cornstarch because it causes the waffle not to let steam escape, giving it a crisper texture.
have already tried it, it was the best
You can use a 3:1 ratio of flour to cornstarch
I learn not to stack the waffles when you place them on the cokking rack.
I learned that you have to use a 3:1 ratio so that your waffles dont get to soft
i learned that opening the waffle iron too soon will cause the top of the waffle to come off on the iron
I learned when your not using bisquick everything has to be perfect
so a cup here means 8 oz, right?
Yes, 1 cup.
This is really good and easy to make.
I have seen a classic recipe for waffles that ask for cream. How would cream affect the internal texture of the waffle?
Don’t think that it would do much except make them a little richer with the extra fat. Let me know if you try it!
Actually, I tried with cream and as far as taste goes, as you say, it’s a richer.
But I’m having a problem with the insides being too moist and gummy while the outside is nice and crispy.
Sounds as if there might be too much liquid in the recipe.