Pre Ash Wednesday there was a flurry of postings on my church’s facebook page. People were excited about the youth group’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper but I posted wondering why it couldn’t be Shrove Tuesday Waffle Supper? Cause if someone threatened to upend a bowl of batter over my head I’d have to tell the truth and say honestly that I prefer a plate of waffles to a stack of pancakes any day. In my opinion waffles rule (though I make an exception for cottage cheese pancakes).
Shrove Tuesday is intended to use up all the butter and eggs in your pantry so you’re ready for a lean and light forty days of Lent but what I don’t understand is who chose pancakes over waffles? Both batters use many of the same ingredients, while waffles have the added bonus of all those wonderful squares that you can pour maple syrup into or plunk in some fruit. The one pancake-y exception I hope to make someday is entering a pancake race. Can’t you just see me running down the street, saute pan in hand, flipping as I go? I’m sure my altar guild would sponsor me.
Despite the wonderful pancakes served up by our youth group (yes, we went traditional) by the time the weekend rolled around I was hankering for a plateful of waffles. I made a double batch of buttermilk waffles because (please don’t tell the Lenten police) I hadn’t use up all the butter and eggs in my kitchen pre Ash Wednesday.
Nooks and crannies for syrup and fruit
Look at the picture above to see how perfectly one raspberry fits in a single waffle square (at least in the squares formed by our waffle machine). After I’ve fruitified I fill the other squares with maple syrupy goodness. Of course the extra bonus is that if you double your batter you can always make extra waffles to freeze and have later for a quick breakfast (think homemade eggos). If you don’t have any extra freezer space simply cut the batter recipe below in half and make enough to eat in one sitting.
Double batch of waffle batter
Buttermilk Waffles (double batch)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 stick butter (1/4 pound), melted
6 eggs
3 cups buttermilk (plus a little more if necessary)
Preheat your waffle iron. I make the ones for eating right then a little darker and crispier than the ones I intend to freeze and toast later.
Waffles ready to freeze
Separately mix together the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients, then and combine together and whisk until almost all the lumps are gone. Waffle batter tends to be a little thicker than pancake batter, but if the batter seems too thick to pour you can thin it down with a little more buttermilk. Spray the waffle iron with vegetable oil before the first waffle, then pour into preheated waffle iron and bake until crisp. You shouldn’t need to respray after the first waffle. Yield will vary depending on the size of your waffle iron. Serve with maple syrup and fruit.
If you’re making extra to save for later cool them on racks before bagging them to freeze.
Waffle-y goodness with fresh raspberries and maple syrup
50years50recipes 
Cynthia, I’m totally with you on waffles over pancakes. And I love you enough to share our family recipe, annotated, for some sleepy morning when you want to try something new.
Aunt Nancy’s Down-Home Pioneer Valley Pumpkin Waffles
“The most delicious waffles you’ll ever eat, with the fiber of a 9’ x 12’ rug in each serving.”
Once you get the hang of this healthy recipe you can put it together in 10 minutes. Use as a master recipe: variations – replacing pumpkin with apples or bananas, addition of nuts, coconut, etc – can make these waffle/pancakes a weekly treat.
In large bowl, mix and let soften:
½ cup rolled oats (quick or regular)
1 cup buttermilk or 8 oz. yogurt
In small bowl, combine dry ingredients:
½ cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 teaspoon (or to taste) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional for variations)
Add wet ingredients to large bowl and stir to mix:
2 eggs (can use one egg and one egg white if you’re really watching fat intake)
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup pumpkin or squash puree (leftovers or canned; one can of pumpkin yields three ½ cups; freezes well)
1/3 cup milk (the lower the fat content of the milk, the better the outcome; vary amount of milk to get right consistency in variations)
Stir dry ingredients into wet, adding more milk if necessary to make a pourable batter. Cook pancakes or waffles on a lightly greased griddle. If you must, hold waffles in a very low oven, right on the rack in a single layer, until serving time.
These sound delicious Nancy-thanks for sharing the recipe! I can’t wait to try them.
As Someone who has never cared much for pancakes, the waffles seem like a much finer option. Don’t know if the kids would be up to that, though.
Okay, let’s get serious here. Those little WELLS in the waffles are for MELTED BUTTER and then on top of that, WARMED MAPLE SYRUP. There are certain rules which can not be ignored. I vote for waffles anytime!
Hmmm, I thought they were for maple syrup warm or cold (warm does go farther as it thins out a bit). We might need a waffle referee here to help call this one.
The real issue is time. Waffles do take more time to make (and often blow more fuses). I happen to be of the opinion that it is time well spent, but clearly at St. John’s they are not of the same opinion. Which is ok, sometimes tradition and time management take precedence.
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