Chocolate Waffles

When I asked Tink what she would like for birthday breakfast she said, "chocolate waffles!"  I thought it an interesting request since I had never made them before.  And where do you turn when you have never made a dish before and it has to turn out perfectly because it is for a special occasion?  Yep, Alton Brown.  His recipe for chocolate waffles is oh-so-perfect!! They come out with a slightly crisp outside and soft, tender insides. The chocolate flavor is perfect, too.  There is very little sugar in this recipe, so they are not sweet.  We all really, really liked that.  The hint of sweetness came from the chocolate and then, of course, the syrup. If the waffles had been sweet the syrup would have been overkill. Tink ate four and asked for them again the next morning...and the next morning....  :)

You will need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3T sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (Alton added a full tsp)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/4 cup oil (Alton used butter, same quantity)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups buttermilk (don't substitute!!!!)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
waffle iron

To me, a great waffle recipe has two things: buttermilk and oil.  I would not even consider making waffles without those two ingredients.  I don't, however, think a great waffle recipe needs yeast or beaten egg whites. 

Preheat your waffle iron. I turn on mine before I even start making the waffles, so that it is piping hot and ready to go after the waffle batter rests.

Such an easy recipe--in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. 

In another bowl, beat the eggs together with the oil and vanilla and then add the buttermilk.

Make a well in the center of the dry mix and add the wet.

Stir together...

and then add the chocolate chips.  That's it!  I switch to a spatula to do the stirring when I add the chips.

Let the batter rest for five minutes.  That will give the baking powder time to do its stuff.

I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to add the batter to the waffler maker.  I have a nonstick, so I don't really need to grease it, but I always give it a little pan spray before the first waffles go on.  After that I don't bother.

Alton says to leave them for five minutes.  I have a temperature indicator on the top of my waffle maker.  When it turns green I open it up.  The waffles are always perfectly cooked.  It takes about five minutes. :) :)

Now for the good part!  Butter...

and syrup!

I got 16 waffles total.  Four for each person.  They are very filling, but it is so hard to stop eating when they taste this awesome!  Full just means we could stop if we wanted to.  Right??

The chocolate chips are something else in these waffles.  So gooey and delicious.  I usually use mini chocolate chips in pancakes or waffles, but with this recipe I used the big guys and I am so glad I did.  I definitely would not recommend using a chip sweeter than semi-sweet.  No milk chocolate.  I loved, loved, loved that these waffles were not sweet, but still full of chocolate flavor!  They definitely tasted like waffles and not a dessert.  Way to go, Alton! Another home run!!

Make them immediately!  For breakfast or dinner!!   Enjoy!

Sunshine Mom's Chocolate Waffles

adapted from Alton Brown

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3T sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt (Alton added a full tsp)

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 whole eggs, beaten

1/4 cup oil (Alton used butter, same quantity)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups buttermilk (don't substitute!!!!)

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

waffle iron

1. Preheat your waffle iron. I turn on mine before I even start making the waffles, 

so that it is piping hot and ready to go after the waffle batter rests.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, 

cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  

3. In another bowl, beat the eggs together 

with the oil and vanilla and then add the buttermilk.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry mix and add the wet.

 

5.Let the batter rest for five minutes. 

6. I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to add the batter to the waffler maker.

7. Alton says to leave them for five minutes.

8. Now add butter, syrup, jam, even peanut butter!

Alton Brown's The Chewy

Oh, how I love Alton Brown. What could be better than a little science mixed in with baking? (I'm a sci-fi junkie, so maybe this appeals more to me than to you. :) I watch Good Eats all the time and loved his show on chocolate chip cookies. He made three batches: The Chewy, The Thin, and The Puffy. I really only like chewy chocolate chip cookies, so I watched him, then read through his recipe, then "fixed" it to my tastes. I think the milk he adds is unnecessary if you decrease the butter and flour a bit. Plus, I always bake cookies at 325 degrees. It just works the best, I've found. So here's my recipe:
2 cups King Arthur (yes, it has to be King Arthur) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup butter (1.5 Smart Balance sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 T vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk (makes a big difference, I promise)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (brand doesn't matter)

The Usual Suspects:



Cream butter and sugars until it looks like this:



About adding the egg yolk instead of the full egg...Alton Brown explained the reasons, but I just know it works. Seriously. Since we get our eggs from our sweet girls out back, I don't have the heart to throw away the extra white so I put it in a small baggie and save if for omlettes or something. (The larger egg on the left is courtesy of our Jersey Giant, Eragon.) Throw in the vanilla with the eggs and stir until fully incorporated.




Sure, you could sift your flour and baking soda into the mix. I don't sift. First, with King Arthur it is unnecessary. Second, my sifter broke...I think because I bought it at the dollar store. :) (Try King Arthur, really. It is so far superior that you will never, never go back to any old flour. You may need to add less flour if using a different brand. I've been using K.A. for a long time, but I seem to remember needing just a touch more of it when I first starting using it. It has a finer texture than most flours.) After adding the chocolate chips your end result will look like this:



Bake at 325 on a lightly greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper) for 15-17 minutes. Don't wait until they are browning all over. Take them out at the first hint of slightly brown around the edges and let them set on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a rack to cool. Taking them out before they look done will give you a cookie that is crisp at the edges and chewy and soft in the middle. Plus they will stay chewy the next day. BTW, uniformity means nothing to me when baking cookies. I just use a soup spoon and plop them on the cookie sheet. Homemade cookies should look homemade, I think. As far as measurements, I used slightly less than a 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. Makes about two and a half dozen. They came out like this:




After setting and cooling:




Oh, boy! The kids need to get home from school NOW.