how we got here

this recipe for waffles,

prepared from a batter that has sat

at room temperature overnight,

has been all over the internet

for quite a while -

and before that, an intimate

member of many people's kitchens

for years.

so, when i made a batch,

um, six weeks ago, i didn't

plan to tell you about the waffles.

i really thought that instead,

i'd tell you about my experience

making them. about how, i really

wanted to make these. so

much so, that i ignored common

sense, like the fact that even though every

single time i read about the recipe

it said not to make them in a belgian

waffle maker, i realized that's all i had

and shrugged my shoulders, sure

that it wouldn't matter.

or, like the fact that we were

going to a party the night before

and i though it might be pretty late

when we got home. or this fact:

when larry and jenn and i returned

home from a party at lauren's house

it was clearly well past midnight,

both larry and jenn

were bordering on cranky (jenn,

certainly playing the part of the trooper;

larry, not so much) and neither one

of them were very interested in waiting

the five minutes it took

to melt the butter,

measure the ingredients and

whisk them all together.

or these facts:

i'm not sure that i'm

so in love with waffles,

i never make breakfast and

had to buy maple syrup just

for this meal, i bought completely

politically incorrect out of season,

crazy expensive (and super sweet)

blueberries to go on top and,

i insisted that we wait an extra hour

so that larry could go get orange juice

and large eggs when

we realized that we only had

x-large in the house.

but, the thing is - it's been

six weeks. they were good.

really good. but, i almost forgot

about the whole waffle

experience until i finally got around

to downloading all the pictures from

my camera very recently (oh, hello,

super bowl) and at this point, i just

wanted to tell you i made them and

show you the pictures.

so, after all of that,

here's what i learned and what

i remember about these

yeasty, not so sweet, waffles.

-all those internet folks are correct:

they are thin squares, much more

interested in crisping delicately

than rising. this lead me to my next

finding.

-even though it turns out you can

flip waffles, it's still kind of weird

to do so.

-they'll make your house smell

faintly of soft pretzels, in the best

possibly way.

-they taste delicious on their own,

but even better with said

fresh blueberries and maple syrup.

-they're good enough to uncrank

those who may have woken up still

a little bit cranky. if i do say so myself.

marion cunningham's raised waffles

adapted from about a million places

i can't prove this to you, but clearly i think it's better to make these waffles in a standard waffle maker. as i said, they're not very sweet, but if that's upsetting to you, it's nothing a little syrup, fruit or whipped cream couldn't fix. and, while some people i know may think otherwise, i feel it's important enough to highlight a great piece to this recipe - almost all of it is prepared the night before so that the morning of, all you have to do is add eggs and baking soda, whisk and pour into the hot machine.

also, if you can handle it, i recommend melting the butter, then sprinkling the yeast over the water and then warming the milk.

1/2 cup warm water

1 package (2.25 teaspoons) dry yeast

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 cups whole milk, warmed

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

fresh blueberries, if desired

maple syrup, if desired

place water in large mixing bowl; sprinkle yeast over water. let stand 5 minutes.

add flour, salt, sugar, warm milk and melted butter; whisk until smooth (you could also use electric beaters). cover tightly with plastic wrap; place on counter and let stand overnight.

the next morning, heat oven to 250˚f.

heat waffle maker according to the machine's instructions (my waffle iron doesn't seem to have a temperature setting, but i read around and most who made these waffles recommend a medium-high setting).

whisk the eggs and baking soda into batter. in batches, pour batter into hot waffle maker (note: i absolutely did not use enough the first time and adjusted upward from that point on. however, i think i became a little too comfortable by the fourth batch and there was a bit of overflow. oops.). cook according to the waffle maker's instructions.

as the waffles finish cooking, transfer to foil-lined baking sheet; place pan in oven. add waffles to the baking sheet as they come off the iron.