I make crispy waffles in my 35 year old GE waffle maker! Are you beating the egg whites? Oiling the grids?

We got this one a couple of years ago, and I love it! We put all kinds of berries in our waffles.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/waring-pro-reg-double-belgian-waffle-maker/1017628135

Thinkgeek has one that makes waffles that look like the Deathstar from Star Wars.

Come to the dark side; we have waffles. http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/huik/?pfm=HP_TopCMD_huik

(This message posted by my inner child.)

I love my WaringPro waffle iron. It's easy to use and clean and the results are consistent. Pour in the batter, flip the head & it beeps when they're ready. I've had mine for 10+ years. Make them about once a month.

My favorite recipe was the Belgian Waffle one from the instruction manual. Easy, but you have to let it set overnight, so need to plan ahead.

This summer I came upon Food 52's recipe for Waffles Of Insane Greatness. It makes very light crispy waffles. No long setting up time either. Big hit with my crew!

Here's the updated model of my machine. And a pic of one of the Insanely Great waffles we made last summer.

Mayflowers, my recipe didn't separate the eggs. Didn't oil the grids either because it's nonstick and I didn't think to do it.

I think this might have been the first time in my life I made waffle batter from a recipe. I usually make pancakes, but I really love popping a frozen waffle in the toaster. I don't mix berries in the batter, but I nuke frozen ones and use them instead of syrup.

Is a Belgian waffle thicker than a regular one?

Why are some sort of suspended in a sling? So you can flip them?

amck2, I'm gonna look at that recipe. I want light and crisp, not sweet and flabby.

My family tells me I make the best waffles, and I love the Cuisinart WMR-CA round waffle maker. I have four of these, so when I have a houseful, we can keep them coming. Cuisinart waffle iron

A lot depends on your recipe. My recipe calls for separating the eggs, and it also has a cup of melted butter stirred in at the end, just before adding the egg whites. Make sure your iron is hot enough, and don't take them off until they are done. When my husband helps, he tends to take the waffles off before they are done, and then they tend to be soft. I like mine well done and crispy. One other thing I've discovered, if you butter your waffles before adding the fruit or syrup, makes sure you use real butter, Margarine makes them mushy. Hope this helps.

Look online for the pancake recipe from Bette's Oceanview Diner in Berkeley. It was in the Sacramento Bee in the 90s and I've made it dozens of times. Make half the recipe for about three waffles.

It makes great pancakes and waffles. The only thing I do differently from the recipe is I let the milk and eggs come to room temperature because if the milk is cold, the melted butter coagulates. I always whisk while adding the butter. For waffles, you can separate the egg and beat the white till stiff, but I typically don't bother with this recipe. You should add a little more butter for waffles though.

I think this recipe works well because it makes a thick batter and you let it rest 5 minutes for bubbles to form. My pancakes were always a little flat pre-Bette's.

I also have the Belgian flip model by Waring Pro and have had excellent results from it. I dragged my feet about buying it because of the real estate it takes up but it really does product excellent waffles. My daughter worked for a boutique coffee shop last summer who served the most amazing waffles I have ever had (they taste like popovers)! I'll share that recipe here in case you are interested.

Sweet Donkey Waffles

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks of butter (melted)

2 c. buttermilk

4 eggs

Melt butter, set aside. Mix dry ingredients. Add milk, eggs. Slowly add cooled butter.

I use the "Special Waffle" recipe from the Fanny Farmer cookbook, and the waffle iron my father bought for my mother for her 25th birthday in 1950. The only thing I do is to put the bowl and beaters in the freezer before I beat the egg whites. The waffles are always very crispy on the outside.

Edited to add: Someone once told me never to oil the iron. If a waffle needs oil not to stick, the recipe doesn't have enough butter.

BirchPoint, 2 sticks of butter?!!! Seriously? One whole cup? Your recipe matches the one I used except yours has 4 eggs (mine had 3), you have no sugar (mine are too sweet with 3 Tbs.). Mine had a mere 4 Tbs. of melted butter. Don't get me wrong, I love butter, adore it, pile it on bread, mashed potatoes and oatmeal. But 2 cubes seems like a hell of a lot. Please confirm. :)

Joyce, no margarine in the house.

May, will check out Bette's waffles.

Does buttermilk factor into this? Because that's what I used. Also the flour was half unbleached/whole wheat.

I'm very appreciative of everyone's input.

I have a Villaware Belgian waffle maker. I have no idea if they are still being made, but I hope they are- it is foolproof! I use the recipe from Joy of Cooking. It also calls for a ridiculous amount of butter.

One shaped like Texas, of course !

Birchpoint, you left out the salt, an important ingredient in baked goods.

Old school... would love to add this to my cast iron quiver, it is being offered at $275,

BirchPoint, I noticed in your scaled down recipe, it's basically cut in half, but the butter is 1/4 the amount. Is that intentional?

I think my waffle iron is unreliable. I'd like a new one that makes square waffles that can be quartered for toaster portions.

Dont even get me started on toasters.

Plus, my 2011 iMac seems to have crapped out.

mayflowers: Bette's Oceanview Diner recipe has been my family's go to recipe for pancakes for a few years after I discovered it by accident online looking for "The Best Buttermilk Pancake Recipe"! Love them - I haven't tried them for waffles, do you double the butter?

Is this the one you use?

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bette-s-Buttermilk-Pancakes-Rise-a-Stack-Above-2932530.php

Yes, that's it. I have doubled the butter. I've left it the same. I've beaten the egg white. I can't really tell you which is the best method but the last few times I didn't change the recipe. I just bought buttermilk so I'll make a batch and double the butter and see if it makes a crispier waffle. Will report back!

I just had my first homemade toaster waffle with heated berries in their own juice and it was remarkably good. Pretty much the same experience as good frozen waffles I've purchased. The semi-flabby, non-crispiness pre-freezing is pretty much rectified when it gets toasted. Big duh. The size is perfect (square waffle iron segmented into quarters).

I know that there's too much sugar in the recipe I used. I think I'd reduce from 3 Tbs. to 1, just to give it some balance. I might add a little more butter, but maybe everything's okay except for the sugar.

If I don't need a new waffle iron, how can that be a bad thing? :) I'll see what a recipe tweak does. Fresh waffles are one thing if you want them crispy, but that's not my reality. The toaster will take care of the crispness.

I also use my toaster to reheat frozen donuts. My husband loves homemade donuts, but they go stale before he eats them all. So I freeze them. When he wants one, I just pop a frozen one in the toaster on a lower setting. They are just like fresh.

I have a Villaware, and it works great!

For super crispy waffles, it's worth trying yeast-raised waffles. This is a classic recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/05/essential-raised-waffles/

They are rich and sort of brioche-like, and so, so good. For me, they're very different from a buttermilk waffle and would be great with fruit.

This guy http://www.toastercentral.com/waffles2.htm rebuilt my 1940's GE iron that works like a champ. He also offers nice refurbished models.

Avoid teflon coated irons, they are nowhere as good a nonstick surface as properly seasoned cast iron plates to start with and very quickly lose any semblance of non-stickiness. Never soak or use soap on the plates.

Separating the eggs, beating the whites, and folding them in is essential to light crispy waffles, whatever recipe you use. I use the recipe in the old Joy of Cooking (haven't compared it to the new edition). Works perfectly. Frozen waffles are right up there with frozen bagels and instant coffee on the list of Things that Should Not Exist. (just my opinion, of course)

alerievay1, these yeast-raised waffles sound really good. I read the part about leaving on the counter overnight as opposed to refrigerating, and I'd probably do the latter. I don't like funky milk anything and am actually not that enamored with sourdough, even though I live in the land of authentic sourdough.

rwiegand, are you opposed to commercially sold frozen waffles or even freezing and then reheating waffles made at home from scratch?

If someone wants to make me a waffle from scratch for breakfast, I'll be grateful. Since I'm the only chef in this house and need to eat something before starting the day, popping something in the toaster and not having to mix batter from scratch and haul out the waffle iron makes a huge difference.