Waffles, Waffles, and more waffles

So my lovely Calphalon waffle iron which I talked about in this post fell over and broke not too long after we had got it.  It was only the handle that was broken, so it still worked just fine, but it was annoying to have it broken.  I finally wrote to Calphalon and they said that even though it broke because of a fall they would replace it for me, I just had to send it in.  That was back at the end of May.  We have been without a waffle iron ever since.  When we got back from vacation, it had finally arrived, so we've had a lot of waffles the last few days.  Some of them like the cheddar cheese waffles I tried today have been on my want to try list for a while, but the rest were just recipes we were trying with ingredients we had at home (we did not have buttermilk yet.)  So, here are the recipes we have tried.
The first recipe I tried were some wholegrain waffles I found over at sparkpeople.  This recipe is super similar to my wholegrain recipe, it just subbed all of the oil for applesauce and had an extra egg white.  I did add a pinch of splenda to the batter, but it was just awful.  Heavy, and I didn't like the flavor.  Not sure what went wrong because I love my recipe that is very similar.  I'm the only one who even ate any of these.  Blah

DH then tried 2 different Alton Brown recipes on 2 consecutive days last week.  The first was for whole wheat waffles.  They turned out great.  DH said he didn't follow the recipe exactly because he didn't have buttermilk at the time (and I don't think he really knows about the buttermilk powder we have.)  I'm not sure on the recipe he used exactly.  I'll have to get more info first.
I know this is the recipe he used the second day for chocolate waffles because it is still up on his browser. They were good.  In some spots the chocolate chips burned a tiny bit, and I didn't like that, but the rest of the waffle was good.  I think they would be equally good if not better without the chips.   I ate mine with cherry yogurt.

Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients

• 7 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 3/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3 tablespoons
• 1.5 ounces cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 4 ounces chocolate chips, approximately 3/4 cup
• Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

Directions

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl beat together the eggs and melted butter and vanilla, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir in the chocolate chips just until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the center of the iron. Close the iron top and cook until the waffle is crispy on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Today I made Classic Buttermilk waffles with cheese off of Mel's Kitchen cafe.  Those were good.  I ate too many of them trying to decide how much I liked them.  It made only 3 ginormous squares (or 12 small squares) in my waffle iron.  I made the first 2 with cheese - more cheese on the second one.  I made the third with no cheese just to see how I liked the waffle recipe.  All were good.  I didn't think the cheese changed the flavor as much as the texture.  It made them super crispy anywhere there was cheese.  I really liked this effect.  I mostly ate my cheese pieces plain, but did dip one bit in syrup out of curiosity.  It wasn't bad, but I preferred them plain.  I ate my small plain square with peanut butter and syrup.  I think I still prefer Tender Sour Cream waffles that I found at real mom kitchen as my favorite plain waffle to date, but these were also quite good.  I did sub out splenda for the sugar.  Really debated cutting the butter in half and subbing apple sauce, but I didn't.  As a suggestion, definitely go by weight on the flour.  I started pouring my 3/4 cup in, and it got to 7.8 and I stopped.  I had at least 1/8 cup left to go, and I should have stopped earlier.  My batter was a bit thick, and I did thin it with a bit of additional buttermilk.
If  you look closely you can see that the darker one in the center has the cheese.  The one on the right has no cheese.

Classic Buttermilk Wafflesfrom The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups (14 ounces buttermilk)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients; combine the wet and dry ingredients just until smooth.

For an 8-inch round waffle iron, use about 1/3 cup batter (adjust according to waffle iron size). Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the iron stops steaming. If making cheese waffles, pour 1/3 cup batter on waffle iron and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese over batter before closing iron.