Bacon and Cheddar Cornmeal Waffles
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 really 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, just 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 really? 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 just a moment.
Crack in two large eggs into the bowl with the cornmeal.
Add in the melted and cooled butter and give that a good whisking.
Add the dry ingredients into the cornmeal mixture and whisk that until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Add in a cup of milk and whisk some more.
Now comes the fun part… add the bacon. Note: I’m using this fantastic 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 quick 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.
Preheat your waffle iron. With my trusty bff “Mr. Misto” I sprayed the top and bottom of my waffle iron.
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
Top with butter.
And drizzle with real maple syrup. You guys, I think I’ve finally broke my husband 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 {really 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 totally had the upmost confidence that these would taste amazing. The cheddar that touched the iron got all crispy and glorious, the smoky bacon and the maple syrup together TOTALLY 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 so good”… over and over and over. Yup three times, that’s how many bites it took to finish my plate.
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 breakfast. 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 about photography at her age? I mean she is MY daughter and all… 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!
Bacon and Cheddar Cornmeal Waffles
Smoky bacon and cheddar are mixed with corn grits to make the most mouth-watering waffles!
Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 3-5 minutes per batch
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
3/4 cup coarse Cornmeal or Polenta
1 cup Boiling Water
2 whole Large Eggs
3 tablespoons melted Butter, cooled
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tablespoon of Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup of Whole Milk
5 strips of Slab Bacon, diced and cooked
1/2 cup {heaping} Freshly Grated Cheddar Cheese
Butter, for serving
Real Maple Syrup, for serving
Directions:
In a large bowl measure and add the coarse cornmeal. Pour the cup of boiling water over the grits and stir to combine. Let the cornmeal sit for 15 minutes until cooled.
Meanwhile in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
Then crack and add two large eggs, the melted {and cooled} butter and whisk to combine.
Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and the cup of milk and stir. Lastly add in the cooked bacon and the grated cheddar cheese and stir to combine.
Lightly spray the waffle iron. Once preheated, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour batter into each waffle section. Close and cook the waffles for 3-5 minutes until the edges are slightly crispy.
Remove the finished waffles to a sheet pan and slide them in a preheated 200 degree oven to keep warm while you make the remaining waffles. Stir the batter in between batches so the cornmeal and bacon don't sink to the bottom.
Serve these pancakes with a pat of butter and warm {real} maple syrup.
Enjoy!
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
Ohhhh myyyyyy gosssssh! Definitely NOT mad at you
Just love your blog – everything you make makes me crazy… Never stop, I need this daily!
simplyscratch replied: — January 27th, 2013 @ 12:04 am
Thanks Colleyc! I don’t plan to… EVER!
Confession: I too have a massive bag ‘o’ polenta/cornmeal that needs to be devoured. I think I know the first thing I’m making
Looks amazing. I’ve been craving these to ever since they were on the cover of Bon Appetite! Yum!
I should have thought of this but I’m glad you did first! My husband and I threw a pancake party where we created a bunch of interesting combinations such as bacon ranch pancakes, maple bacon, traditional berry, peanut butter. But we found that using the pre-made “complete” pancake mix didn’t set as well as I presume cornmeal would. Excellent write-up!
Cheers,
Sarah C.
simplyscratch replied: — January 27th, 2013 @ 12:03 am
A pancake party!? How fun… and delicious!
can I come over for breakfast? I’ll bring the bloody marys!
simplyscratch replied: — January 27th, 2013 @ 12:02 am
Deal!
Can’t wait to try these, and the nay-sayer is out of town soon. I made cheddar jalapeno cornmeal waffles a while back and they were fantastic served with chili and a salad. Just, you know, in case you need a use for more of those waffles.
You have one clever daughter! Well, you’re quite clever yourself for coming up with these glorious waffles!
I’ve got polenta! And bacon! And white cheddar cheese! This can happen in my house, yippieeeeeeee! It’s so cute that your daughter gave you photo instructions -she’s got an eye for beauty already! – and the picture turned out great! Have a fun weekend!
I must try these! They look so so good. Thank you for sharing these with us! I had my husband eating real maple syrup and now he has gone back to the imitation stuff……he likes it because it is thick…..I don’t like it because it is fake! Glad you got yours to eat it.
We love homemade waffles but don’t make them nearly enough. Bring on the bacon!
I have never made cornmeal pancakes before. Really kind of upset I don’t have any bacon on my house right now. Definitely getting added to the Costco list for tomorrow though!
Soo… I just gotta say… your blog is a pure delight to read… not only do I want to make EVERYTHING you make… I just want to sit and take in the pure genius that is your writing.
simplyscratch replied: — January 26th, 2013 @ 11:51 pm
Wow, thank you so much Elyce! Your comment really means a lot to me… thank you for taking the time to stop by and leave such a kind message! Thank YOU!
Bacon? Cheddar? All in a waffle? Genius!
Yum!!! I love bacon! Can’t wait to make this!
Woah. Sounds SO GOOD! I dont eat meat, so hopefully when I add my fake bacon (fakon) it still does the recipe justice.
I can definitely get on board with these savory waffles! Hell, I can eat them for breakfast every morning!
I know what I’m cooking for brunch this weekend!!
Would regular cornmeal (like used for making corn bread) not work the same? Mine definitely doesn’t look coarse, so I’m wondering if it will have a big impact on how it works with the rest of the ingredients… Thanks!
simplyscratch replied: — February 1st, 2013 @ 2:09 am
I personally wouldn’t us the finer grain cornmeal. I think alot of the delicious texture comes from the larger grain