The Best Buttermilk Waffles

Heat waffle iron. Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Whisk yolk with buttermilk and butter. Beat egg white until it just holds a 2-inch peak. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients in a thin steady stream while gently mixing with a rubber spatula; be careful not to add liquid faster than you can incorporate it. Toward end of mixing, use a folding motion to incorporate ingredients; gently fold egg white into batter. Spread appropriate amount of batter onto waffle iron. Following manufacturers instructions, cook waffle until golden brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately. (You can keep waffles warm on a wire rack in a 200-degree oven for up to 5 minutes.) Makes 3 to 4 waffles. (I rarely have buttermilk in the house, but I always have buttermilk *powder*. I substitute 1/4 cup buttermilk powder + 7/8 cup water for the buttermilk in this recipe. I add the buttermilk powder to the dry ingredients, and I add the water to the wet ingredients. The flavor is great! I do NOT use the cornmeal. Sometimes I add 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, but the sugar makes the waffles brown more quickly. I usually double or triple the recipe. If you dont have buttermilk or buttermilk powder, use the recipe for "Almost-as-Good-as-Buttermilk Waffles" instead. ~jlw) NOTES : "The secret to great waffles is a thick batter, so dont expect to pour this one. Make toaster waffles out of leftover batter -- undercook the waffles a bit, cool them on a wire rack, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze. Pop them in the toaster for a quick breakfast." -- Christopher Kimball, Cooks Illustrated magazine. By "classact" <classact@i1.net> on Mar 22, 1997 Recipe by: Cooks Illustrated magazine, Nov/Dec 1993 Posted to MM-Recipes Digest by "John Weber" <hdbrer@ibm.net> on Mar 25, 98