Waffles a festive treat at breakfast, or anytime

Weekends and holidays are a perfect time to transform your morning-meal repertoire into a festive occasion. Trade up from French toast, and try waffles.

Whipping up waffle batter is no harder than making pancakes or muffins, and it can be prepared the night before to speed things along in the morning.

The health-conscious will appreciate hearty multigrain waffles with thick yogurt and mixed berries. Or serve tender buttermilk waffles with sliced fresh fruit, jams, chocolate, whipped cream, or nothing more than maple syrup as adornment.

Leftover turkey or ham and gravy make a filling, home-style, open-faced sandwich atop a crispy plain or cornmeal cheddar waffle at any time of day.

The history of this delightful food starts in ancient Greece as obelios, flat, crisp cakes cooked between two metal plates thrust into the embers of a fire. Later, some version of wafer, waffle, gaufre found its way through Europe to the Americas, Asia, and beyond. Early waffle irons had symbols, crests, coats of arms, or the familiar crosshatch pattern in various sizes and styles.

The Pilgrims learned about waffles during their stopover in Holland and brought them along to the New World. Much later, Thomas Jefferson brought an iron waffle baker back from France as a culinary souvenir and, as president, hosted several waffle parties at the White House, from which a nationwide waffle craze ensued.

While various savory waffle dishes have had a heyday - such as waffles and kidney stew, and waffles and fried chicken - most waffles are enjoyed with something sweet.

I grew up loving waffle sundaes. The combination of a warm buttermilk waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce was an exhilarating riff on breakfast food for the then-6-year-old me.

Now, my sweet tooth is sated by rich, chewy, Belgian-style sugar waffles. The sweet yeast dough is similar to brioche, with nuggets of special pearl sugar mixed in.

These sugar bits melt while baking and create a distinctive crunchy, sweet, syrupy interior. As pockets of sweetness, Belgian waffles need no toppings. Eat them out of hand, or off a plate, with morning coffee, or at room temperature with afternoon tea. They pack well for road trips and school snacks.

Like other yeast doughs, Belgian waffles need time to rise, so unless you get up very early, make this dough the night before.

The more common and quick-to-make cake-waffle batters can be made as much as two days ahead, or assembled just before baking. These batters should not be overmixed, or they will be tough and heavy.

The lightest results come from separating the eggs, beating the whites until foamy and thick, and folding these into the batter just before baking. The crispiest waffles will have a fair amount of oil or butter, and low-fat recipes are most likely to stick to the iron. Many waffle-iron manufacturers warn against oiling the iron, as this will lead to a gummy buildup that is hard to remove, but low-fat waffles may require a bit of grease on the waffle iron's surface.

For less mess, pour batter from a pitcher, rather than ladling. Cook until the steam subsides, then check for doneness.

Waffles will lose their crispness if stacked or cooled on a solid surface. For best results, keep waffles on a wire rack before serving.

Waffles can be kept warm in a 300-degree oven, directly on the oven rack, for 15 or 20 minutes. They also freeze well. (Why buy frozen waffles?) After cooling the waffles in a single layer on a rack, layer them between waxed paper. Store well-sealed in the freezer to be reheated for 10 minutes at 300, or popped into the toaster oven or toaster.

With waffles this easy, you will be tempted to eat them on weekdays.

Makes 4 servings

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1 cup unbleached white flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup fine cornmeal

11/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

2 eggs

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1. In large bowl, combine flours, flax, oats, sunflower seeds, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt. In a smaller bowl, mix together the milk, oil or butter, and eggs, and beat until eggs are incorporated. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until moistened. Some lumps may remain.

2. Preheat waffle iron. Depending on the size of your waffle iron, use 2/3 to 1 cup of batter for each waffle. Pour the batter onto hot waffle iron, close lid, cook until steam subsides, check, and remove from waffle baker when done to your liking.

Note: Toppings might include some of the following: maple syrup, jam, thick yogurt, fresh fruit, fruit sauce, toasted nuts, butter, hot turkey and gravy.

Per serving (without toppings): 741 calories, 19 grams protein, 75 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams sugar, 42 grams fat, 103 milligrams cholesterol, 384 milligrams sodium, 9 grams dietary fiber.EndText

Makes 4 servings

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2 1/2 cups flour - use up to 1 cup of whole-wheat, or all unbleached white

1/8 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups buttermilk

3 eggs, separated

6 tablespoons melted butter

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1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder (and cornstarch and spices for the pumpkin version - see note) together.

In a smaller bowl, mix the buttermilk with the egg yolk and butter (with pumpkin puree). Mix together until uniform.

In medium-size, very clean bowl, add the egg whites and whisk until soft peaks form when the mixer is lifted from the whites. Add the buttermilk (pumpkin) mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until moistened. Gently fold the egg whites into this mixture until just blended.

2. Bake in a preheated waffle iron, 2/3 to 1 cup of batter at a time. Check for doneness when steam subsides.

Note: For pumpkin waffles, use 1/3 cup brown sugar in place of sugar; add 1 tablespoon cornstarch to dry mixture; add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon dried ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 cup pumpkin or butternut squash puree. Toppings might include some of the following: maple syrup, orange butter, honey, chocolate sauce, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate hazelnut spread, sautéed apples, cinnamon sugar, sliced bananas, toasted pecans.

Per serving: 558 calories, 17 grams protein, 72 grams carbohydrates, 13 grams sugar, 22 grams fat, 190 milligrams cholesterol, 905 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

Makes 4 servings

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1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

31/2 cups of flour

2/3 cup warm milk

1/2 pound butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3-1 cup Belgian pearl sugar, or coarsely broken sugar cubes (see note)

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1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 teaspoon of the flour, and allow yeast to proof (bubbles should begin to form within 10 minutes, "proving" that the yeast is indeed alive - if yeast does not proof, discard and begin again with fresher yeast).

2. Put the remaining flour in a large bowl, and add all ingredients (except the pearl sugar), stirring well. Let rise until this batter doubles in bulk (an hour or so, or overnight in the refrigerator). Stir in the sugar pearls before baking.

3. Make 4 to 6 balls with the dough. Bake each in a preheated waffle iron until browned. The melted sugar will be very hot, so be careful when removing from the waffle iron. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. No toppings required.

Note: The Belgian pearl sugar has no real American substitute, but can easily be purchased online. The closest substitute is coarsely broken sugar cubes. I purchased my sugar supply from Lars' Own through Amazon.com.

Per serving: 984 calories, 16 grams protein, 117 grams carbohydrates, 34 grams sugar, 51 grams fat, 219 milligrams cholesterol, 667 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

Makes 4 servings

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11/2 cups unbleached white flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

11/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 medium jalapeño, cored, seeded, and minced fine

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1. In a large bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, cheese, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper.

2. In a smaller bowl, mix the milk with the eggs and oil. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients along with the minced jalapeño. Mix until moistened. Some lumps may remain.

3. Bake in a preheated waffle iron until browned.

Note: Toppings might include some of the following: sour cream, additional grated cheese, shredded chicken, salsa, gravy.

Per serving: 666 calories, 23 grams protein, 57 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams sugar, 39 grams fat, 148 milligrams cholesterol, 637 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.