Last year I missed International Waffle Day here on the blog and I've never forgiven myself for it. On that day last year I put a note on my blog editorial calendar for International Waffle Day 2015 so I wouldn't forget. (I use Google calendar to plan my blog, so it was easy enough.) That means this post has been planned for an entire year. Welcome to my crazy Type A brain!

It really is a shame that I missed last year because it was during my waffle frenzy. I think I've made half of the waffle recipes on the internet. I find the process of making them to be so relaxing - they're harder to burn than a pancake, you don't have to constantly keep an eye on them (just an eye on the light of your waffle maker), and they reheat better than pancakes.

When we got our waffle maker about a year and a half ago, the first waffles we made were the famous whole wheat ones from The Fauxmartha. These ones are based on those because it's a solid recipe. I went with the flavor combo of cinnamon and raisins because I find it to be so comforting. Maybe that's because I used to eat the cinnamon raisin swirl bread by Pepperidge Farm all the time at my grandma's house. She once let me eat eight slices of that in one sitting WITH BUTTER ON THEM. She liked to feed people, that one.

When I shared my recipe for vanilla bean waffles (SO GOOD) I don't think I made a strong enough case for why everyone needs a waffle maker, so I'm going to attempt it now. THEY'RE SO FUN. I really love the one I have because it's small so it doesn't take up a ton of space in my cabinet, it warms up quickly and makes a waffle in about two minutes, it has a good nonstick coating, and after it's cooled off you just give it a good wipe down and put it away. And yes, it's technically a one-trick pony, but that one trick is WAFFLES. When you have people over and you say you're making waffles, no one is complaining. Also, you can waffle a lot of stuff. Get creative! Brownie batter, donuts, grilled cheese, ... You get the drift.

I made these cinnamon raisin ones a handful of times while I was testing the recipe, and I definitely did not get sick of them. In fact, I think my love for them grew the more I ate them. They're chock-full of raisins with a strong cinnamon flavor, just as they should be. I bet they would also be amazing if you turned them into french toast. That's one of my favorite things (cinnamon raisin french toast), and also something my grandma used to make for me with that Pepperidge Farm bread. Are we noticing a pattern here?

So I think we should all take part in this glorious holiday that is International Waffle Day. Last year Robert and I celebrated with ham and cheese waffles for dinner. (That's ALWAYS a good idea.) One night during the testing process for these cinnamon raisin waffles, we used them to make an open-face sandwich situation with bacon, spinach, cheddar cheese, raspberry jam and a fried egg on top. That was fantastic, but would have been better with brie cheese, in my opinion. I guess you could use them anywhere that you might use cinnamon raisin bread, like for a chicken salad sandwich or something ... Okay, now I'm officially hungry. Happy Waffle Day!

PS - You might want to check out my Pinterest board dedicated to waffles.

Illustration at top created with pencil and Photoshop.
Prints of my illustrations (and other products with my work on them) are available in my Society6 shop.
Photos by yours truly!

WHOLE WHEAT CINNAMON RAISIN WAFFLES

Makes 9 waffles

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups (195g) whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger (optional)
1 large egg
2 tbsp orange juice, fresh squeezed
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1.5 cups milk
1 cup raisins

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl.
In a medium/large bowl, whisk together the egg, orange juice and vanilla.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the milk and keep over low heat for one more minute. Remove from the heat.
Slowly add the milk and butter mixture to the egg mixture while whisking. Continue to whisk until fully combined.
Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and mix together gently with a spatula. When it’s about halfway mixed, add in the raisins and continue to mix just until no more dry flour bits remain. Do not overmix.
Let the batter rest while you warm up your waffle iron to your preferred setting.
Use 1/3 cup of batter for each waffle. Place the finished waffles on a cooling rack so they don’t steam themselves and get soggy. You can also keep the finished waffles in a warm oven until you are ready to serve them.
Enjoy!