Do-It-Yourself Frozen Waffles

Tired of paying grocery store prices for my usual brand of organic, whole wheat waffles, I decided it was time to try something new. I wanted the convenience of frozen waffles (without the hefty price tag), and I wanted the wholesomeness of homemade waffles. I owned a waffle iron. I knew how to make waffles from scratch. Why not put two and two together and save a few extra dollars? I searched the Internet high and low for a waffle recipe that I would be proud to serve my family--one without too much oil and sugar, one that would be a good source of whole grains and fiber, one that I wouldn't feel guilty about. That's why I started buying the box of six organic, whole wheat waffles to begin with, wasn't it?

Well, turns out I couldn't find the *magic* recipe. I've never been a follow-a-recipe-to-the-letter kind of girl anyway. I finally bit the bullet and came up with my own recipe, and we LOVE it! I am happy to share it with you. I will list the exact ingredients I used, but you can feel free to substitute what you already have on-hand:

Ingredients:

3 cups Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill flax seed meal (can substitute wheat germ)
1/2 cup Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. organic sugar
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine:

2 sticks butter, melted
4 cups organic, fat free milk
4 large eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. local honey
2 tsp. real vanilla

Pre-heat waffle iron. Slowly whisk wet ingredients in to dry ingredients until a batter forms. Don't over-whisk, but make sure most of the lumps are out of the batter. Add batter to your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill. Cook until golden brown. Remove to cool on wax paper.

To freeze, make sure waffles have cooled completely, otherwise they will stick together. They can be wrapped in foil or put in a gallon-size or larger freezer bag and frozen. When you're ready to cook, simply take out the waffles, pop them in the toaster, and serve with the topping of your choice. You may find these waffles have enough flavor (not necessarily sweetness) to serve with just a little butter.

Other toppings we like:
Peanut butter and raisins
Strawberry fruit spread
Pure maple syrup
Local honey

This recipe made 28 waffles on a Krups Belgian waffle maker. The number and size will vary, depending on the brand of your waffle maker.

Calculated savings from what I was buying before: $17.68

I don't ever want to go back to buying boxed waffles again!

I hope you and your family enjoy these waffles!

Written and submitted by Lindsey @ Penny-wise