What's For Christmas Breakfast: Waffles with Grandma's Vanilla Sauce

Welcome WXPR listeners — thanks for stopping by! You will find the recipes from today's segment at the bottom of this post.

This time of year, there is a lot of cooking going on in my home. Whether I’m cooking for holiday get-togethers with colleagues, family or friends, baking for cookie exchanges, or preparing holiday feasts, my oven and stovetop definitely get a workout this time of year. 

Some of my favorite food memories are associated with the Christmas holiday. As a child, my family’s kitchen counters would be covered with tins full of freshly-baked Christmas cookies, including English toffee bars topped with chocolate and chopped nuts, sugar cookies covered in way-too-many sprinkles, spritz cookies made with a temperamental cookie gun, and everyone’s favorite peanut butter blossoms. Some of the cookies were destined for our stomachs.  The rest were packaged up to be brought down with us on our annual winter break road trip from snowy Ohio to sunny Florida, where my mom’s snowbird parents spent the winter to escape the cold conditions of New York. 

While I continue to carry on the family tradition of baking dozens of cookies every Christmas, if I had to pinpoint my favorite food memory associated with the holiday, it would center on a humble kitchen appliance and a treasured family recipe.

What might this appliance be? A waffle iron that my grandparents were given as a wedding present in 1943. My father inherited the waffle iron when he headed to college in the early 1960s.  Made by the Dominion Electrical Manufacturing Company in Mansfield, Ohio, the round waffle iron is a thing of Art Deco beauty. The silver chrome is just as shiny today as it was back in the 1940s when it was made. 

Every year at Christmas, my family and I would hold our breaths as the waffle iron was plugged in, fearing that this would be the year that the waffle iron would stop working. But … here we are more than 70 years after it was made, and the waffle iron still works just as well as the day it left the factory. 

For as long as I can remember, waffles have been on the breakfast menu on Christmas morning. It is a tradition continued by my dad from the Christmas mornings of his youth.

We are spoiled up here in the Northwoods with an abundance of sugar maple trees, and you can’t go wrong with the classic combination of hot-off-the-iron waffles and pure maple syrup.  However, in our family, Christmas morning breakfast wouldn’t be complete without the addition of my Grandma’s vanilla sauce.

Waffles with vanilla sauce, served alongside strips of crispy bacon and a citrus salad made from the oranges Santa left in each of our stockings – made for a filling and satisfying meal with my family after an early morning spent unwrapping presents around the Christmas tree. These days, while I might not always make it home to Ohio for the holidays, I always know that with the combination of a few simple ingredients, I can get a taste of our family Christmas wherever I may be.

Waffles (printer-friendly version)
makes 4+ servings

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or whole)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and allowed to cool slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together the two eggs. Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
3. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients; stir to combine. (Do not over-stir; the batter will be lumpy.)
4. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into the center of a lightly oiled waffle iron. Close the lid and allow to cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.
5. When done, use a fork to lift the waffle from the iron. Serve immediately, or place on a plate in a 200-degree oven to keep warm.

Grandma Berg's Famous Vanilla Waffle Sauce (printer-friendly version)
makes 4+ servings

2 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or whole)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (use 1 teaspoon for an even stronger vanilla flavor)

1. In a medium sauce pan, stir together the milk, sugar, and flour over medium heat. Stir frequently. (This is very important; you do not want the milk to scorch.)
2. Continue stirring as the mixture heats; bringing it to a boil. Cook for a few minutes more; the mixture will thicken to a pudding-like consistency.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Keep the sauce warm and serve over waffles immediately.