Something to Write Home About: Lemon Ricotta Cornmeal Waffles

I'm a  waffle girl. If given a choice between waffles and pancakes, it's waffles everytime and twice on Sunday. All those little grooves to get syrup in...the crispy outside that only soften with syrup--but not enough to get soggy....yum!! I like this particular recipe because the cornmeal adds another crispy dimension--I sort of combined several recipes to make it my own. We have visiting friends and the waffles were a HUGE, HUGE hit.

I imagine these would be great to feed a big group if you doubled or tripled the recipe. The great thing about waffles is that they can be made ahead and reheated directly on an oven rack at about 350 degrees until heated through.

LEMON RICOTTA CORNMEAL WAFFLES

1 1/2 cups flour (I have not tried whole-grain yet, but figured cornmeal was enough whole-grain)
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup part-skim ricotta (no need to drain)
2 eggs
1 egg white
4 tablespoons melted light butter
1 cup fat-free yogurt (plain or vanilla flavored-I used Greek style vanilla flavored)
1/4 cup skim milk
Zest of one lemon

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another medium sized bowl, combine the wet ingredients and lemon zest. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and combine until just smooth (don’t over mix).

Bake the waffles in a waffle maker till golden brown. Serve with pure maple syrup.

Served 4 very hungry people (and 2 babies)--we also had Morningstar sausage patties, coffee au laits, and fruit. Here they are with peach-strawberry syrup:

Leftover waffles freeze beautifully; just re-crisp in a toaster or toaster oven before serving.