Fluffy, crispy and perfectly round wonders… this Cuisinart makes waffle magic. 

This morning I felt like I experienced a revolutionary discovery.  A tasty, appetizing, surprisingly fluffy gluten free discovery. How come no one has ever told me before about such joy? How could I have only discovered just this morning at my advanced age of motherhood this wondrous food called waffles? The truth is that I had tasted some bland store-bought waffles before, but had never had the pleasure of making or tasting it from scratch and witnessing the magic of the waffle maker at work. There is something big to be said about fresh and homemade.  It really makes all the difference in taste and texture.

I am not really sure how this Cuisinart Vertical Waffle Maker works its magic though.  I mean the batter that I used was basically the same ingredients I use to make my regular ho hum pancakes.  I always just replace the wheat flour with gluten free baking flour from Trader Joe’s, and substitute dairy milk with almond milk from Trader Joe’s as well. I also use eggs, oil, a pinch of salt, and dash of cinnamon and sugar.  I should mention that I added to my waffles this morning some almond flour as a substitute for a third of the flour.

The point is that this might be the first food item that I have tasted since going gluten free (on and off for four years now) that actually tasted possibly even better than a regular wholesome delicious wheat filled baked good.

I took an educated gamble on purchasing this cool looking waffle maker.  I know and love to use my Cuisinart immersion blender for all my soups and smoothies and it works smoothly and perfectly every time.  I figured, maybe the Cuisinart brand is the way to go in general. I think it was a good gamble!

Before using the waffle maker this morning I made sure to wipe away any remaining dust on the metal surface.  I braced myself for the stinky smell it would make after I plugged in the machine for the first time. The instructions had alerted me to the fact the the non stick coating would at first give off a smell.  They were definitely correct on that point! I opened my windows and doors and turned on the exhaust fan to help dissipate any of the toxicity in the room. Thankfully after a few minutes of having the waffle maker turned on,  the smell seemed to just fade away with no terrible after-effects.

I was worried that it would be difficult to pour into the top spout of the waffle maker without spilling and making a mess, but it was a breeze in the end as I transferred the batter to my measuring cup with a spout. I figured out that ¾ cup measurement is exactly the amount to fill the waffle maker up just enough without excess spillage or overfill.

My next discovery was that the heat setting on the waffle maker is not very intense, and I was able to turn it up to the highest setting which is 5.  I think it just bakes it for longer, but not any hotter. I actually left the batter in there after the waffle maker beeped to signal it was done. (My two year old thought the beeping sound was a truck outside and got very excited for a minute there.  We live on a very quiet street) It was only slightly golden brown. Not a single waffle turned any darker than the slightly warm shade. I definitely didn’t have to worry about burning anything here!!

The next hurdle or worry that I had was laid to rest as I tentatively poked and prodded the waffle around the edges to test how easily it would come off the griddle.  No worries there either! It was simple and satisfying to watch how smoothly the waffle slid right up onto my spatula with the aid of my trusty wooden spoon. I made sure not to put anything metal on the pan because of the delicate non stick coating.

My final discovery for the morning was the actual taste and texture of the waffle.  It was hard for me to believe that anything so fluffy on the inside and lightly crispy on the outside was something that I was able to cobble together with my makeshift gluten free recipe.  And on the first try!

I was able to serve a successful breakfast to all my kids as well as myself and my hungry husband.  We all tried it with wild blueberries, maple syrup and and a dollop of coconut whipped cream. The only thing I will do differently next time is leave out the dash of sugar from my recipe.  The blueberries and maple syrup are all the sweetness that I would ever need on these fluffy,crispy, tasty, perfectly round wonders.

Now my daughter is requesting that I make a new batter tonight just for her, because she wants to bake waffles tomorrow morning before school.  Lucky for me she forgot that she doesn’t have school tomorrow, so that gives me more time to just drool and imagine a pile of freshly made waffles sitting in front of me right now as I type up the longest product review ever written by me, that has possibly turned by now into a novel or maybe just a novelette, but either way, all I know is that I am getting seriously hungry.  And I just ate dinner like an hour ago..Oh well, I guess I didn’t really have dessert yet. Hmmm.

In case you are not hungry enough yourself now, I will attempt to upload some pictures of my waffle maker and the results of this morning’s waffle baking adventures.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Waffles 

Serves: 4 adults
Prep & cook time: 10 minutes

Challenge:  Feed a family of seven including five who are on gluten, dairy and soy restrictions.

I have recently discovered a new, light yet satisfying, non messy, child friendly food that the kids and adults can breakfast and snack on all day long with pleasure.  

Gluten, dairy and soy free waffles to the rescue!

I based this recipe on my regular pancake recipe and went online to my latest favorite recipe website: Genius Kitchen. The original Gluten-Free Waffles recipe was a community pick which called for gluten free flour, milk and butter, but I snuck in some almond flour, and switched to almond milk from Trader Joe’s.  

I skipped the butter and used olive oil instead.  Then, as I plugged in my brand new cuisinart waffle maker,  I hoped and prayed for the best. I always pray for the best because I never seem to stick to the the original recipe!   And, I should mention of course that I doubled the recipe to feed my hungry five children and my husband and I.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour (I use Trader Joe’s baking mix)
• ½ cup blanched almond flour (Trader Joe’s)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups almond milk (Trader Joe’s)
• 2 eggs
• 4 teaspoons light olive oil

Directions

In a medium or large bowl mix together the dry ingredients

In a medium bowl beat the eggs and add in the remaining wet ingredients

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

Pour carefully into the waffle iron and wait for doneness around 3-5 minutes depending on your waffle iron and personal preference.

Best when served fresh!

Topping ideas

• Wild blueberries
• Maple syrup
• Coconut whipped cream
• Sunbutter and honey (Good fats for the baby)

Savory version:

(I would really like to try these.  Sometimes it is nice to have a break from all the sweets!)

• Avocado and salsa
• Eggs and sliced tomatoes
• Shnitzel or breaded chicken with mango salsa (avocado, mango, red onion, lemon juice)