Name: Waffles: Bacon Cheddar Cornmeal
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3/4 cup coarse cornmeal or polenta; 1 cup boiling water; 2 large eggs; 3 tablespoons butter (melted and cooled); 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/2 tablespoon sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup whole milk; 5 slices thick-cut bacon (diced and cooked); 1/2 (heaping) cup sharp cheddar cheese (freshly grated)

Please don’t be made at me.

I couldn’t help it. It had to be done. You see I’ve had this bag of polenta/corn grits in my cupboard… and Costco size package of bacon in the fridge that I’ve been working my way through all week… and well I always have cheese on hand, sooo you know…

Of course I was going to make some cornmeal waffles that have bacon and cheddar through-out. I mean duh… who wouldn’t?

I’d genuinely like to say I stopped at three waffles… but that would be lying. It also would be lying if I told you that I didn’t have a stack for lunch too. So there’s that and then there’s how I didn’t even bother chewing, only fork-mouth-stomach-repeat. Actually, that might not be a surprise to you. Moving on…

When exactly did this turn into a confession post anyway??

So everyone was a little bit leery about my breakfast idea. Our convo went a little like this:

Them: What’s for breakfast?

Me: Waffles!!!

Them: YAY! WHoo-hooo! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! What kind annnnd are you going to blog it?

Me: Cheddar & Bacon Cornmeal Waffles! And yes!

Them: *crickets*

I think the sound of bacon in their waffles was where I stumped them. I mean genuinely? What did they expect from me, regular waffles? PAH!

Like total shocker… I forgot the milk in my ingredient shot. UGH! Story. Of. My. Life.

Pour a cup of water into a small saucepan and bring to a rapid boil.

Pour the boiling water over the grits and stir.

I for some reason forgot to pour them into the big bowl first, but whatever, let them cool down for a bit {like 15 minutes} before you move on to the next steps.

Meanwhile combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk it to fluff it all up and break up any clumps of flour. Scoot this off to the side for only a moment.

Crack in two large eggs into the bowl with the cornmeal.

Then add in the melted and cooled butter and give that a good whisking.

Next add the dry ingredients into the cornmeal mixture and whisk that until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

And add in a cup of milk and whisk some more.

Now comes the fun part… add the bacon. Note: I’m using this memorable pecanwood slab bacon I picked up at the store. It was seriously love at first bite.

Then add in the grated cheddar. Please grate the cheddar by hand, it’s a must.

With a spatula, give it a speedy mix until all the bacon and cheese are throughout. I noticed when I was scooping the batter out that the cornmeal, bacon and cheddar started to sink to the bottom. So keep the spatula in the bowl to stir it up each time before scooping and pouring the batter onto the hot waffle iron.

Next, preheat your waffle iron. I highly suggest lightly spraying the top and bottom of the waffle iron with either coconut or light olive oil spray.

Then I used a heaping quarter cup of waffle batter and poured it into the center of each waffle section.

Close the lid, watch the crazy steam that escapes and cooked for 3-5 minutes

Lastly, top with butter and drizzle with real maple syrup. You guys, I think I’ve finally broke someone at the table up with his long-term relationship with imitation syrup! Since I WILL NOT buy it and we’ve been making a ton of French toast and waffles lately… it was bound to happen. It only took 17 years {truly 17 years, huh?} but I did it. Success!

And there it is. Bacon, corn grits and cheddar in all their glory. I was so geeked completely had the upmost confidence that these would taste memorable. The cheddar that touched the iron got all crispy and glorious, the smoky bacon and the maple syrup together COMPLETELY rocked and then let’s talk cornmeal. I mean it was subtle, and sometime there was some textural crunch happening, but every bite I consumed I was saying out loud “ohhhh this is worth the pot”over and over and over. Yup three times, that’s how many bites it took to finish my plate of Bacon Cheddar Cornmeal Waffles.

A little side-note on the shot below. My 8-year-old daughter was standing right next to me while I was taking the pictures of my Bacon Cheddar Cornmeal Waffles. When she turned to me and said ” Mom, you should take a picture of the waffles in the back and leave the waffles in the front blurry.” Umm how does she know that much about photography at her age? I mean she is MY daughter and I’m taking photos al the time. But still. My heart skipped a beat when she said that. So of course I had to include it in my post.

Have a great weekend everybody!