My boys have both come to expect that on Saturday morning they’ll be eating either pancakes or waffles. It’s my own fault, or actually my parents’ fault, because they made us pancakes every Saturday morning when we were kids. I couldn’t imagine not carrying on that tradition with my own kids. Even now, Saturday morning is still pancake morning in my parents’ home too. Usually we’ll have pancakes too, but very now and then I’ll spice things up a little by making waffles instead. I love this particular waffle batter recipe, because you make it the night before so that in the morning you have batter ready to go. All I need to do is heat up the waffle iron and in a few minutes we have perfect waffles. They’re crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. I like to add a super quick microwave berry sauce to go on top of them. It’s so fast and easy that you can make it while the waffles are cooking. We’re lucky have an abundance of blackberries in this area, so we have a lot of frozen blackberries that we picked from bushes at a local park. They’re perfect for this sauce when you combine them with a sweeter berry, like blueberries or strawberries. Ontheir own I find them too tart.The kids loved both the waffles and the sauce. The best part is you can freeze the leftover waffles and pop them in the toaster during weekday mornings or snacks. They’re so much better than store-bought frozen waffles. I’m wondering now how this batter would work as pancakes. Maybe I’ll try it tomorrow morning and report back!

Overnight Waffles
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ground flax seed
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, flax, yeast and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until fully combined. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
In the morning, uncover the bowl and give the batter a stir. Cook on a lightly greased waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.

Quick Microwave Berry Sauce
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc)
1 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp sugar (more or less, depending on berry’s sweetness)

Place berries in a microwavable bowl. In another bowl, combine cornstarch and sugar, then sprinkle mixture over the berries. Cover the bowl and microwave for 3-5 minutes, stirring after each minute, until sauce begins to thicken. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Pour over waffles or pancakes.