Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles

I appear to be on a waffle kick recently.  Perhaps the rarity of two lazy Sundays in a row with my husband are to blame.  It's not often both of us are off of work in the morning together.

So far every waffle I've attempted has been a wonderful success. Why stop now?  This recipe offers a completely different base than the previous waffles I've tried. Fresh blueberries are the featured star.  Oh blueberries...how you taunt with thoughts of summer warmth when the weather outside lingers around 13 degrees...

adapted from Nicole's' recipe at Baking Bites

yields 6-8 Belgian style waffles (depending on the iron used)

The Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup fresh blueberries

The Process:
Preheat oven to 250 and warm up the waffle iron.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg yolks, vanilla and melted butter until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and whisk until well combined.

In a separate mixing bowl with an electric beater, or by hand with a strong wrist action, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks.  Fold the whites gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.  Do not over mix!  The batter should retain as much air as possible from the whites.

Gently stir in blueberries. Allow batter to rest for 5-10 minutes.

Brush or mist the waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter into waffle iron, spreading quickly with a spatula to cover the entire griddle surface (amount varies depending on waffle iron, mine uses just over 1/2 a cup). Cook according to iron manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Make more waffles in same manner.

Serve warm, garnished with additional blueberries and topped with powder sugar or syrup 

The Review: 
Another successful waffle! And quite a bit different from the previous waffle recipes I've tried recently.  The batter was very thick and a bit sponge-like, making it tricky to spread over the griddle.  For those with in interest in chemistry in the kitchen, this is a good recipe to try.  You can see the effects of baking soda, baking powder and buttermilk...acids and bases...bubbling up to make the batter dense, yet air. The reaction accounts for the spongy look of the batter.

The batter was a good indication of how the waffles would turn out.  The waffles were light, but the texture much denser than both the pumpkin and plain waffles.  Also, the extra moisture added as the blueberries burst opened and steamed up the griddle prevented the beautifully crisp outer layer I adore on my waffles.  But i doubt there is anyway around that when you use fresh fruits to cook.  Beautiful purple juices sputtered and dripped over the side of the iron as the blueberries swelled and burst, sizzling away on the hot surface.  Be prepared for extra clean up!

But the flavors were divine...just sweet enough to compliment the blueberries, with just a hint of vanilla.  A hint of buttery flavor.  A burst of alternating tart and sweet berries...

I could get used to a Sunday morning waffle tradition...