When I was pregnant, and one of my biggest cravings was for waffles just like my grandmother used to make them — not fancy Belgian style waffles with deep holes like what’s popular now, but crisp-on-the-outside, spongy-on-the-inside with shallower holes she made with her 1980s square maker. Unfortunately, she passed many years ago, and her waffle iron is lost to the ages.
Oh, and I don’t have much room in my tiny NYC apartment kitchen for storing a giant or even mid-sized Belgian waffle maker, either. So I bought this tiny shallow-hole beauty from the well-engineered budget kitchen brand Dash. It’s $10 and makes perfect Eggo-sized waffles but with all the texture and flavor of a homemade waffle!
Simply plug it in, let it heat up till the light goes off (like a hair straightener), spoon some batter on, and close to cook until it stops steaming, about 4-ish minutes for me with the Krusteaz Waffle Mix. Which, yes, that’s what my grandmother used to use! They come out perfectly every time and with the exact taste and texture I’m looking for. Then to store, it takes up no more space than, like, the size of my palm.
Promising review: “This is perfect for two people. Instead of getting my big waffle maker out and waiting for it to heat up I just get the small one out and fix a half batch of waffle mix. It bakes better than my big one and it takes up so much less space. The big one is going.” —Jan Rice
Get it from Amazon for $8.89+ (available in 13 colors as well as Peeps, skull, heart, and pumpkin shapes).
