Waffles and Pancakes, Not Quilts

My grandmother went to the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School back in the early days of the twentieth century. She got one of the very earliest cookbooks published by Fannie Farmer as part of the curriculum. This was pretty basic American fare even if some of the recipes did try for elegance. I don't think my grandmother ever cooked with garlic in her life--too much like "foreign" food for her. But two of the recipes my family has made ever since her days in Boston are Buttermilk Waffles and Buttermilk Pancakes.

These are essentially the same recipe with minor variations in the amount of flour.

Buttermilk Waffles and Pancakes

3 large eggs separated
1 stick of butter melted
2 cups of buttermilk
For waffles use 2 full cups of all purpose flour.
For pancakes use between 1and 1/4 cups and 1 and 1/2 cups depending on how light you want your pancakes.
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
half a teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar

Preheat your waffle iron or a griddle. Pancakes need to be cooked somewhere between 400 and 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Waffles are more to personal taste with some people liking darker and crisper and some lighter.

Mix the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat the three egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside. In another large bowl beat the egg yolks until lemon colored and then add the butter and the buttermilk and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients all at once and stir briefly until lightly blended, scrape down the bowl, then beat vigorously for about 30 seconds. Fold in the stiff egg whites until no large white patches remain (small ones are all right). If you wish to add fruit (bananas, apples, blueberries for pancakes, blueberries for waffles) do so when folding in the egg whites.

My waffle iron is eight inches round and takes 1 and 1/2 cooking size spoons of batter per waffle. Pancakes are about 1 cooking spoon size worth.

Cook on griddle or in waffle iron as usual.

These are  the best you will ever eat. I don't think they even need syrup.