150 Best Waffle Maker Recipes: From Sweet to Savory - Marilyn Haugen & Jennifer Mackenzie

Summary: Now home cooks can enjoy scrumptious restaurant-quality sweet and savory waffles.

To say that waffles are enjoying a moment is an understatement. The Waffle House sells 145 waffles per minute - 877 million waffles and counting since they opened - and almost 10 percent of North Americans eat waffles at least once a week. But the really hot trend in waffles is taking the experience beyond breakfast to create savory sandwich-style meals for lunch, dinner and beyond. If the lineups outside waffles-only restaurants are any indication, waffles are here to stay in a big way.

As bestselling authors and highly respected recipe developers, Marilyn and Jennifer have created 150 delightfully delicious and inspired waffle recipes, from the classics and delectable breakfast and brunch options to snacks and light bites, grab-and-go burgers and sandwiches, main dishes for one or two, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free waffles, and tantalizing desserts and treats.

Breakfast dishes such as hearty Huevos Rancheros with Cornmeal Waffles or the indulgent Pumpkin Spice Waffles with Coconut Cream are guaranteed to get anyone's day off to a perfect start, but if you're ready to take it up a notch, try innovative options like Pico de Gallo Chicken Quesadillas, Black Bean Burgers with Creamy Avocado or a Club Wafflewich - a club sandwich taken to all-new heights.

Throughout the book, Marilyn and Jennifer offer up ingenious tips and techniques that will have you making waffles like a pro in the same time it would take you to go out to a restaurant! (Summary and pic from goodreads.com)

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Review: I like waffles. My family LOVES waffles. I have some kids who prefer them to pancakes (which is a debate every time we have breakfast foods). I’m always on the lookout for fun new recipes to try, and this book looked so fun, what with its non-traditional and expanded uses of the waffle maker.

I have two waffle makers—one of those normal waffle ones, and then a Belgian waffle maker that makes two at a time. I mention this (other than the fact that I’m totally sure you’ve always been wondering about my waffle maker sitch) because this cookbook was much more easily enjoyed having both of them. Some of the recipes were better served with a traditional waffle maker, and others were better with a Belgian waffle maker.

There were a lot of cool things about this book. First off, I love making normal kitchen tools do more for me than just their normally scheduled job. I’m not an inherently creative person this way, in that I don’t necessarily look at a waffle maker and think, “I sure could make a great biscuit in this thing!” No, I’m a rather square thinker. So when I opened this book up I was impressed and excited about the different things that I could do with my waffle maker. Obviously the authors were very creative. The waffle maker is so convenient that you don’t have to heat up an entire oven to make these recipes, which is great. It creates a platform and provides recipes for many of your fave recipes to be made in a small, easy-to-clean tool (your waffle maker!). Another thing that I found really cool is that these recipes were for just a few servings, which is nice. I mean, if I’m going to make dinner for my whole passel of children, using something bigger like the oven might be quicker and more economical. However, I do have boys who are always eating All the Things and these recipes were simple enough that were I to show them and help them the first time, I think they’d be able to do it and it could even possibly keep the fiasco in my kitchen to a minimum. Which is always a bonus.

There are a surprising number of recipes in this book—of all genres. Don’t think you’ll just be making new and improved breakfast waffles (although there are definitely those). No, this takes you through appetizers and main courses and snacks and sides, and desserts and fun things you have just never even thought of. It turns the normal waffle maker into a multi-tasking tool of surprising variety and convenience. And the recipes are delish, which is obviously key.

The one thing this book doesn’t have is the slick and beautiful photography and presentation. The pages are just normal paper pages, but I didn’t find that to be a problem. There are a few pictures, and albeit they aren’t the numerous glossy blogger-turned-cookbook type, they certainly did what they needed to do and the recipes were clear and easy-to-follow, with lots of options for variations in each recipe. I was thinking that this would be a perfect recipe book for a bridal shower (along with a waffle maker, of course) or college-bound student, because these recipes are simple enough to follow and contain easy-to-find ingredients. It would be very palatable for people cooking on a budget and who want convenience. However, don’t get me wrong, there was plenty to tantalize my palate as well. I found it to be a diverse and useful cookbook.

My Rating: 4 Stars

For the sensitive reader: Don’t worry. It’s clean.