Norwegian Waffles (Vafler)

In Norway, waffles are served room temperature, hot or cold as a dessert with coffee, but not for breakfast.  My mom liked to make them in her heart-shaped waffler for her holiday parties, separating the hearts and serving each heart with jam or a strawberry, topped with a bit of sour cream.

I have inherited her heart-shapped waffle iron and the cookbook with the waffle (vafler) recipes, and couldn’t wait to try them out! 

Since I don’t live in Norway, I was all good with making them for breakfast.

And since the whole recipe makes 10-12 waffles, and I was making breakfast for just Michael and I, I made a half batch:

• 2 TBSP butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1-1 1/2 TBSP sugar

Put flour in a mixing bowl.  Make a well in the center and pour in half the milk.  Whisk together until you have a smooth batter; continue adding the rest of the milk a little at a time, until all of the milk is incorporated.

Add egg, heavy cream, salt and sugar.  Whisk until smooth.

Let the batter rest for up to 30 minutes.  Notice the tiny bits of butter that solidified in the cool batter–they will help the waffles lift out of the waffler like magic!

Heat the waffle iron.  Brush melted butter on both the top and bottom plates of the waffler for the first waffle only.  Pour the batter on the iron in small ladle-fulls and cook until golden.

Serve however you like to serve waffles, but for that Scandinavian flair, I recommend a healthy dollop of lingonberry preserves and a wee bit of whipped or sour cream.  OMG. Best. Waffles. Ever.

A couple years ago, I really, REALLY wanted lingonberry preserves at Christmas time.  Alas, not to be found in Western Colorado groceries.  A Google search found some at Amazon–pricey, with shipping that was more than the cost of the jam!  No lingonberries for me.  This least year, IKEA opened a store in Denver–they have a small Scandinavian grocery in their store with (drumroll!) lingonberry preserves for just over $3.00 a jar!  Score!!! I came home with 3 jars! 

Since I was doin’ the Norwegian thang for breakfast, I just had to trot out my favorite Porsgrund Norwegian china coffee mugs.  This pattern is called Farmer’s Rose, based on traditional Scandinavian folk art called rosemaling.  So pretty.  I just love them!

Anyway, Nowegian china or not, lingonberries or not, these are the absolute yummiest waffles I’ve ever had.  Michael LOVED them and ate them as fast as I made them!  He asked to have waffles again the next day–I’ll make a full batch–they were light enough that I was wishing I had more, too!

There’s another waffle recipe in the book called Sunday Waffles (Sondagsvafler) that the book says are “heavenly.”  You know I’ll be giving those a try soon!  ‘Tis a Blessing to Be Norwegian! (A little kitchen charm from Mom’s kitchen)  ❤

Stay tuned for more recipes from The Best of Norwegian Traditional Cuisine….not the lutefisk, though  🙂

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