Swedish Waffles

My mom got this recipe from one of her cousins recently. They found it in their mother’s belongings and scanned the recipe card before sending it on to those who might be interested. My mom knows I would like to collect old family recipes, so she emailed a copy to me a few weeks ago.

Since I did a post on Dutch Poffertjes for the end of Daylight Savings last year, doing a post on Swedish Waffles seemed fitting this time.

First of all, let me just state that I won’t get into a debate about the authenticity of this recipe. Family members believe it is well over 100 years old. Its exact age is not known, however. It came from Hulda Carolina, the mother of my maternal grandfather. She was born in Linkoping, Sweden in 1869 and immigrated to the United States in the early 1890s. According to family members, she got the recipe from her mother, Hulda Johanna. Waffles apparently started becoming a part of Swedish food identity in the 15^th century, when yeast was the only leavening. The version I received uses baking soda and powder, which entered home kitchens in the 19^th century.

When you read this recipe you will note it has a lot of eggs. Apparently, they make two versions of waffles in Sweden, an egg waffle and a thin, crispy waffle. The egg version is known as äggvaffla. This particular version also has a lot of buttermilk in it – 1 qt. + ½ c. (4 1/2c.). I had to make an adjustment there, partly because I was a bit short on buttermilk, but also because I was certain the batter would be too thin for my Belgian waffle maker. In Sweden, the crispy waffles are made in a shallow waffle iron, so it’s possible that was the standard for this recipe too.

The taste and texture of these waffles remind me a lot of Swedish pancakes. They’re light and fluffy, but the large amount of eggs gives them a distinctive chew as well. With holiday season upon us, it’s certainly a large enough recipe if you’re having a lot of people over for a gathering. (Brunch? Breakfast for Supper? Waffles for dessert?) Not having company? Don’t worry about decreasing the recipe. If you allow your waffles to cool completely (doesn’t matter what kind they are), they can be frozen in heavy-duty zipper bags and used as toaster waffles whenever waffle cravings sneak up on you.

1 tsp. Baking Soda mixed with ½ c. Buttermilk. Let stand awhile.

5 Eggs

½ c. Sugar

½ c. Butter, melted (1 stick)

2 c. Buttermilk (4 c. in the original)

3 c. All-purpose Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

Beat eggs with sugar. Add half of buttermilk and flour. Mix well. Pour in soda with buttermilk, remainder of buttermilk and flour, baking powder and melted butter. Mix well.

Place batter on a pre-heated waffle iron. The amount needed will depend on the kind of waffle maker used. If you happen to own an iron that makes thin, heart-shaped waffles, you may want to try the recipe with the full amount of buttermilk.

The Project Queen

A scanned copy of the recipe card