Easy Overnight Waffles are made with a simple yeast batter that comes together in minutes, rises in the refrigerator overnight, and results in a gloriously fluffy and light waffle without the need for much hands on preparation.
The phrase Thank Goodness it’s Friday has ever meant more to me in recent history than it does this week. Fresh on the heels of a week in which it was most definitely my circus, and all of my monkeys were sick with a crud that took down even Bacon Slayer with ease, getting back into the full swing of things this week has been a challenge. You know the kind of week where 5 week days stretch to feel 3 weeks long and only allot for 4 to 5 hours of sleep each night? Yeah…that about sums it up. Thankfully, I’ve yet to fully contract the crud that took down my entire family. I love every minute of caring for my family…or at least most minutes of it…but I’m ready for a little rest and relaxation this weekend.
Haha! I just cracked myself up with that one because anyone whose ever been to my house knows that I rarely sit down until my kiddos are securely tucked into bed at night. I’m surely aware that the moment I sit down, I’ll fall into a waking coma of sloth and not want to get up again. I save sitting for after 9:00 p.m. when I officially “clock out” at night. My R&R comes when my younger two boys are tucked into bed and I flop on the couch for a Fixer Upper marathon. Watching Chip & Joanna do their thing will make me question my semi-vegetative state with their energetic, cheerful attitudes.
I’ll soon be inspired to want to renovate All the Spaces, thus causing me to pin home renovation and decorating ideas on Pinterest late into the night. Once I’m good and truly bleary eyed with fatigue, I’ll stumble to bed while cursing myself for staying up too late and shortening the amount of time I have to sleep. I’m very fond of sleeping, so I tend to irritate myself when I shave off available time to enjoy it by going down a rabbit hole of other activities.
The whole cycle is very reminiscent of the book If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, only more closely akin to If You Give a Mom Time to Rest, She’ll Think of 1000 Other Things that She Could be Doing and Start Adding to the To Do List.
So yeah…I’m hoping to sleep in a bit on at least one day this weekend.
And waffles. I’m really hoping for some waffles because if there’s anything better than sleeping in on a Saturday and then feasting on warm, crispy waffles, then I want to meet it.
Easy Overnight Waffles are light and crisp with a fluffy texture, just as a good waffle should be. The batter comes together in a flash, and doesn’t require any of that whipping-egg-whites-into-meringue-and-folding-into-the-batter nonsense to achieve a desirable texture like other waffle recipes do. These waffles get all the lift they need from a little yeast working it’s food science magic in the refrigerator overnight. The slow, cold rise also gives the batter time to develop a mild sourdough-like flavor similar to that found in no knead artisan breads.
The Easy Overnight Waffles recipe is so easy to assemble that I often farm the job out to one of the Sons so that I don’t have to get up off the couch at night until it’s time to crawl into bed. That way, I don’t even have to think about meal prep again until I’m nice and rested. In fact, I often whip up Easy Overnight Waffle batter whenever we have company staying with us for the weekend because we can easily have a hot breakfast without my having to get up early to spend the better part of the morning in the kitchen.
I get to sleep. Everyone gets hot waffles. Everybody wins!
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 8
Easy Overnight Waffles are made with a simple yeast batter that comes together in minutes, rises in the refrigerator overnight, and results in a gloriously fluffy and light waffle without the need for much hands on preparation.
10 minPrep Time
25 minCook Time
35 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 1/4 C. all purpose flour
- 2 Tbs. light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) active dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 3/4 C. 2% milk
- 1/3 C. canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, brown sugar, yeast, and salt together in a large bowl to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, beat the eggs into the milk, canola oil, and vanilla extract until well blended. Pour the egg mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. Vigorously whisk the batter until smooth. Tightly cover the batter bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the batter for 8 hours or overnight.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 170 degrees F. Set a wire cooling rack onto a rimmed half sheet pan. Set the prepared half sheet pan onto the middle rack of the oven.
- Heat the waffle maker to medium high heat. (Grease or spray the hot waffle plates, as required). Pour enough batter into the center of the bottom waffle plate to fill it half way. (My 7.5 inch diameter Waring Pro brand Belgian waffle maker requires a scant 2/3 cup of batter per waffle.) Cook the waffles to desired degree of browning and crispness.
- Transfer the waffle to the half sheet pan in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining waffle batter, arranging the cooked waffles in a single layer on the racked half sheet pan in the oven. Serve waffles warm with plenty of butter.
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