I smell BACON!!! Better with Bacon for I Heart Cooking Clubs

It is true what they say... everything IS better with bacon... but what I want to know is...

WHY THE HELL DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS???

Mark Bittman continues to make me smack my head in a “Coulda had a V8” kind of motion.

I mean, come on....

Bacon.... waffles....

bacon. waffles.

BACON WAFFLES!!!

Seriously, people. I love bacon and I love waffles. I love bacon WITH my waffles... why wouldn’t I have thought of having bacon IN my waffles?? The version of this that I ran across on the internet used a belgian waffle maker, pouring the batter onto the grates, and laying a couple of slices of cooked bacon across the batter before closing the lid.

The recipe originates from Bittman’s How to Cook Everything as a variation on his Quick and Easy Waffles. He offers a basic waffle recipe with eleven, count ‘em, ELEVEN options for variations. I decided to employ two of those variations in the same waffle.

The first of which was to add cheese. I know what you’re thinking, cheese in a waffle? Well, really, when you go through the McDonald’s drive through (and I know you do, you don’t even have to admit it here, I’ll keep your greasy little secret) don’t you ask for your McGriddle with cheese? Or your McMuffin? I know I do. So the combination didn’t seem at all strange to me. Although the hubs did look at me a little funny. I chose to let him stew with it instead of trying to explain my logic to him.

SO, I added about a half a cup of shredded sharp cheddar directly in the batter.

In his suggestion for a bacon waffle, he says (as in the internet version I found) to lay a couple of slices of bacon across the uncooked batter before closing the lid on the waffle iron. He also says the bacon cooks along with the batter, implying that it would be raw bacon I am putting on the waffle batter. Not that I have a problem with raw bacon, I don’t, but in the other version I saw, the writer specifically stated that it was cooked bacon she added. Hmmm...confused.

In either case, I decided that I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea of whole slices of bacon seared to the side of a waffle. I’m envisioning a whole strip breaking loose and hitting me in the chin with a maple syrup coated “thwack!” and frankly, that doesn’t strike me as an appealing scenario. Plus, how do you guarantee that you get bacon in every bite? Or waffle? I was thinking the bacon should complement the waffle, instead of either playing second fiddle, or overshadowing it.

You know what I did? I cooked my bacon up all nice and crispy. Then I crushed it up into yummy little bacon bits. Then I sprinkled the bits over the batter so they would end up in every little crevice of the waffle. The result? Well, you’re just going to have to try it yourself and find out, because you can’t have mine... don’t even try... I WILL stab you with my fork... Its friggin’ genius, is what it is. I’m tempted not to even show you these pictures. But, because I’m a sick, sadistic kind of bitch... I’m going to anyway. Go ahead.... drool.....

Quick and Easy Waffles

from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

canola or other neutral oil for brushing the iron

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 TB sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 ½ cups milk

2 eggs

4 TB butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract, optional

Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it.

Combine the dry ingredients. Mix together the milk and eggs. Stir in the butter (and vanilla, if using).

Stir the wet into the dry ingredients. If the mixture seems a little too thick to pour, add a little more milk.

Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron.Variations:Add grated mild cheese, such as Cheddar or Jack, about one cup per batch of batter.

Lay 2 or 3 strips of bacon across the batter after spreading onto the waffle iron and before closing the lid. Bacon will cook along with the waffles; cooking time may be a minute or two longer.

This is my submission for this week's "Better with Bacon" theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs.