The Wonderful Wonderffle

Here's a quick step by step for using one of my favorite new kitchen toys for those of you who are interested in exactly how it works.  It's the Wonderffle Stuffed Waffle Maker.  It's available in cast iron or aluminum and I got the cast iron.  It's pretty heavy, heavier than my 10 inch cast iron skillet, but I really enjoy using it and I'm glad I didn't go with the aluminum one, which is a little less expensive.

The first thing you have to do before using it the first time is season it per the directions that come with it. Tip: Once is not enough! The waffles will stick.  Season it twice.

Once it's ready to use, here's how to do it:

Turn 2 burners on low and separate the top from the bottom and sit each one on a burner to preheat.

While it's preheating, prepare the batter, get a small container of water, get the filling ready, and have some non-stick spray available.

Test the temperature of both sides by dipping a finger into the water and slinging a few drops on them. When the water sizzles and disappears quickly, it's ready to use.

Leave the top piece on the burner to continue preheating while you remove the bottom with the removable lifter to hot pads or a trivet.  Spray with non-stick spray, being sure to coat it entirely all over, including the bottom side of the lifter ring. Return it to the burner and fill it with enough batter to cover the grids on the bottom. 

Add filling(s). Don't allow fillings to touch the metal. 

Top with more batter, bringing the volume up almost up to the top.

Remove the Top from the preheating burner to the hot pad/trivet and spray with non-stick spray, coating entire inner surface.  Hook onto the bottom piece that's holding the batter and close.

Immediately turn over once you close it and cook on low for 6 minutes.  Notice how low the flame is. I'm cooking with propane, and have the setting on as low as it will go.  Yours may be different, but it's important to cook over low heat.

Turn over and cook on low for another 6 minutes. You can partially open the top after flipping to see how the cooked side looks at this point if you want to.

Remove from heat after both sides have cooked for 6 minutes, unhook top and move it to your stovetop or a hotpad/trivet, you're done with it.  Using a silicone glove or hot pad, grasp lifter ring by the handles and place waffle onto a plate.

There you go, ready to enjoy.

This one was stuffed with crumbled Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage only. That's what my husband wanted.  He topped it with butter and syrup.

I've discovered that any liquid batter will work in this.  So far, I've used cornbread and cake batters. Next, I'm going to use a muffin batter.  

You can stuff these with anything you want as long as it's already fully cooked.  I always heat my fillings and keep them warm before adding them in, except in the case of the Devil's food cake batter, which I stuffed with 2 cut up Reese's Peanut Butter cups.  The chocolate melted beautifully and the peanut butter center was soft and gooey.  I sprinkled it with a little powdered sugar before serving. It was good!

The only drawback that's occurred to me is that it takes 12 minutes to cook 1 stuffed waffle, so if you want to make multiple ones, it's another 12 minutes before the next one will be ready.  I've considered getting a second one, and I may get the aluminum just to see what the differences are.  I don't know if it has a non-stick coating on the inside of it, I need to investigate that. I can't imagine it cooking as evenly and beautifully as the cast iron one!

Snickerdoodle Caramel Apple Cobbler

 

I found the original recipe for this at www.krusteaz.com and altered it to suit my tastes.

Ingredients:

1 box Krusteaz Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix

½ cup  melted butter, plus more softened butter to dot on top

1 egg

1 can apple pie filling, cut apples into smaller pieces

Caramel topping (Smucker's or Ghirardelli are both good, get one that’s a squirt bottle, not a jar with a lid that unscrews)

¼ cup cinnamon / sugar mixture (add however much cinnamon you want to ¼ cup sugar)

 

Directions:

Disregard directions on cookie mix box.  Combine the mix, ½ cup melted butter, and egg together and stir until dough forms.  Press half the dough into the bottom of a 8 by 8 inch deep baking dish that's been coated with butter flavored non-stick spray. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, remove from oven, leave oven turned on.

Combine the spice packet that comes with the cookie mix with the ¼ cup of cinnamon / sugar mixture in a bowl and stir to mix evenly.  Sprinkle a thin layer of it over the baked cookie layer.

Spoon the chopped pie filling into the baking dish next, spreading evenly.  Sprinkle with half of the remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Drizzle caramel topping all over the top, about 1/3 of the container’s worth. 

Using your fingers, pinch little pieces, about dime size, of the dough and drop onto the apple layer to cover the top.  There will be spaces in between the dough where the apples will show.  Don’t press the dough all together to completely hide the apples, just drop the bits of dough onto the surface as evenly as possible until it’s all gone.  Sprinkle the top with remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture. 

 Finally, drizzle more caramel over the top, generously.  Remember, this is a cobbler, and the caramel goo is what makes it so good.  Just put however much you want.  At least another 1/3 of what’s left in the container, minimum. 

Dot the surface with little bits of butter here and there. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cookie layer on top is nicely browned and the center is not sunken. 

You can use ANY flavor canned pie filling you want in this recipe!!!  Blackberry, blueberry, and peach, and strawberry would all be good combinations with the cinnamon and caramel goodness in this recipe.

It's so good!