Waffley Goodness

I have been wanting a long time, a really long time - like since I was a kid long time!  I'm not really sure why the delay in making the jump and actually purchasing the waffle maker, but all these years I've been longing for that delicious crispy, sweet goodness.  Well, this weekend my husband decided it was time, and he surprised me on Christmas morning with my very own waffle maker!  I literally screamed with excitement!

Doesn't it look like it would make the most delicious waffle concoctions?  Well, last night we gave it a try, and  it was everything I hoped it would be and more!  This particular model was super easy to use - when you plug it in it turns on, it lights up when it is ready for batter, it lights up when the waffle ready.  

I found a really delicious recipe for Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles over at Shutterbean (an amazing inspiration for all things foodie and delicious by the way!).  The original recipe came from Sunset Magazine.  This is how it went:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 cups quick cooking rolled oats*

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups low-fat milk

1/2 cup butter melted

2 tablespoons vegetable oil**

*My husband informed me after we ate that I might should have cooked the oats before adding them to the mixture. I'm not sure if this is true for all oats, but I just used regular oatmeal and precooking probably would have helped.

**The vegetable oil is not for the mixture, but to grease the griddle.  I used non-stick cooking spray and it worked excellently!

Mix all your dry ingredients together in a large-ish bowl until combined.  And yes, this is the largest bowl I have, so if you have an extra...just kidding.  

In a separate bowl mix your wet ingredients until combined.  Add your wet to your dry ingredients and mix until combined (but don't over-mix, a few lumps are good).  See how a larger bowl would have come in handy?

Now it's time to get that baby ready.  Get it warm and ready (if yours takes a while to warm, you might want to preheat it while you are making your batter).  Also, we keep our syrup in the fridge, so I let it sit by the waffle maker during the whole process to warm it up a smidge.

Once it's heated and ready, brush the vegetable oil (or cooking spray) on the griddle and pour in your batter, then close and let the magic work.  My maker had it own measuring cup for making sure you poured the right amount of batter on the griddle.  If yours doesn't have one, 1 cup of batter would be fine.

Serve with a bit of butter and warm maple syrup and enjoy!  And yes, they really were that good!!