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So by now, you have all heard of The Great Eggo Waffle Shortage of 2009-10.  If not, read all about it HERE.

So, waffle fans…what to do?  Do you need to make a trip to cancun or some other foreign place in the hope of finding some Eggos? Nope, they probably don’t have them there, either.    You could go to a breakfast place, such as IHOP, for waffles.  But I can’t in all good faith recommend IHOP, because the last time we were in one, we came hungry and left hungry.  We used to go to the one in Kenmore Square, for breakfast before a Sunday afternoon Red Sox game.  This was back in the days before you had to take out a bank loan to buy Sox tickets.

Anyhoo, they were always very busy on Sunday mornings, and having to wait an hour for a table was common.  But we always allowed enough time for this.

On that fateful day, we waited the usual hour for a table.  When we were seated, a waitress came over and asked if we wanted coffee.  We said yes, and that was the last we saw of her, or any other server.  We sat there for a good hour, and there was this guy sitting next to us who did get to eat, but he was waiting for someone to bring him his bill.  He’d been sitting there waiting longer than we were!  I was getting really pissed, and said that if I were him, I’d just get up and walk out.

I don’t know what he ever did, but it was getting close to game time, so we got up and walked out, and went to the ballpark.  I was pissed because we missed batting practice due to this lack of service.  We decided that we were never going to set foot in another IHOP anywhere, ever again.

That particular IHOP is long gone, they tore down that whole block of Commonwealth Avenue and built some fancy-schmancy hotel in its place.  Whatever, no big loss.  But to this day, when I see IHOP commercials that tell us to *come hungry, leave happy*, I remember how we came hungry and left hungry.  Not good business!

But I digress.  Instead of Eggos, you could always buy some other brand of frozen waffles.  But the fact is, they just aren’t as good as Eggos.  So, the best solution is to learn how to make your own waffles.  It’s not hard at all, the only thing is that you will need to buy a waffle iron.  These can range in price from anywhere from $20 to hundred of dollars.  The cheaper ones tend to not heat up as well as the pricier ones, so your waffles will take longer to cook than the recipe says.  But as long as you know this, and plan accordingly, you’ll be okay with a cheap one.  Mine is a Toastmaster that I got for about $20 at Sears some years ago.  It’s one of those ones that makes four square waffles.  Unless you are a real waffle aficionado, I just don’t see the need to spend so much money on this appliance.

If you don’t want to buy a waffle iron, perhaps you can borrow one from someone, make a whole bunch of waffles, then let cool, wrap tightly and refrigerate or freeze for future use.

The recipe I’m sharing with you here is from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.  Fortunately, it can also be found on the King Arthur Flour website, which save me the trouble of having to type it all out.  So I’ll just link to it:  Classic Buttermilk Waffles.

Despite what the recipe says, these waffles are perfectly fine when cooked in advance, refrigerated or even frozen, and reheated, in either a regular or toaster oven, or a toaster.  I undercook them slightly if I’m doing them in advance, so they don’t get overcooked or burnt in the toaster.

Oh…in this recipe, *soda* means baking soda, not Coke or Pepsi or Mountain Dew or anything like that!  And finally…even if your waffle iron is nonstick, you will still need to spray it with nonstick cooking spray.  Trust me on this one!

Hopefully, you will like this recipe as much as I do, and it will help you survive until Eggo waffles are back on the shelves in your favorite market’s freezer section!