With the classic salty-sweet combination, these Bacon Chocolate Chip Waffles are sure to be a hit for your next weekend brunch!
Waffles are about as high maintenance as it comes for breakfast. They’re not hard to make and I feel like waffles are almost universally adored. But they just take so dang long to make a whole batch.
Pour in the batter. Flip the waffle iron. Wait 4-5 minutes. Flip again. Open the waffle iron. Peel out the waffle. Pour in more batter. Repeat. For a batch of 8 waffles, that is a lot of standing around and waiting time.
Heck, even poached eggs, which are much more logistically difficult, can be made 4 at a time!
Waffles are not part of our regular breakfast routine. They are reserved solely for lazy weekend mornings with guests. Friends and family sitting around the table, leisurely chatting, in no rush to eat breakfast.
Company hanging out in the kitchen while I (wo)man the waffle iron for the better part of an hour. Waffles are for company.
At two years old, my son has already figured this out. My parents came to stay with us this weekend and when he went upstairs to read books with Grandma and Grandpa, I said I was going to go bake some blueberry blintzes for breakfast.
“No Mommy!” he declared. “Grandma and Grandpa here. We have waffles for breakfast!”
And who am I to argue with a two year old who knows that overnight guests mean waffles? So we made a batch of these bacon chocolate chip waffles for my bacon-loving 2-year-old, which was met with rave reviews “Mommy, BACON is hiding in my waffle! I found it!”
Let’s talk for a minute about how easy these waffles are to prep (although of course, they do take some time to make!).
First up, you’ll need some cooked and crumbled bacon if you want to keep these as bacon chocolate chip waffles. You can make these ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator – they’ll heat and crisp up again when they’re cooked with the waffles.
Gather two bowls. In one bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar). In the other bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (buttermilk, milk, vanilla extract, eggs, and melted butter). Make sure you bring the buttermilk and milk up to room temperature and allow the melted butter to cool before mixing together – otherwise, the cold milk will cause the melted butter to harden in little lumps!
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing to combine with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Don’t overmix; a few lumps are okay, but no big pockets of flour. Fold in the bacon and chocolate chips.
You’ll notice that the batter is pretty thick – much thicker than typical pancake batter. Why is this so important for waffles? We can answer with my favorite subject – kitchen chemistry!
Kitchen Chemistry
Waffles are known for their characteristic pockets (perfect for trapping syrup or butter!). A thicker batter provides the necessary structural support for these pockets to form during the cooking process. The viscosity of the batter prevents it from spreading too much in the waffle iron, allowing the pockets to develop and create the crispy exterior and fluffy interior.
Speaking of that crispy exterior… it’s one of the best parts of the waffle! But all too often, waffles are soggy. So let’s talk about how we can prevent that.
First up, make sure to not overwork the batter – lumps are okay when you mix by hand! And for something like this, you should mix by hand – a stand mixer will overbeat the batter.
Secondly, how you store the hot waffles makes a huge difference. If you’re waiting to serve all the waffles together, you might be tempted to stack them on top of each other on one plate. Don’t do this! The steam released from the hot waffle sandwich makes them super soggy.
Instead, let each waffle sit in a single layer on a plate, on a cooling rack, or even directly on the oven racks in a warm oven. But don’t create a giant waffle stack (you know, like pictured here… do as I say, not as I do!) unless you want soggy, extra chewy waffles.
Don’t want to deal with waiting one at a time to make waffles for guests? Make them all ahead of time! Also perfect for a weekday morning breakfast. Whenever I make waffles, I make a few extra and store them, and my toddler loves a piece in the morning before I head off to work.
Cool each waffle on a wire rack, then freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet until hard. Move the frozen waffles into a freezer-safe bag and store for up to 3 months. Whenever you want a bacon chocolate chip waffle, remove from the freezer and reheat straight from frozen in a toaster or oven. Easy peasy!
And believe me, you will want these often. Salty, smokey bacon with sweet and melty chocolate chips. It’s easy to see why these bacon chocolate chip waffles are so crowd-pleasing!
With the classic salty-sweet combination, these bacon chocolate chip waffles are sure to be at hit for your next weekend brunch!
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