Here’s How To Make Little Car-Shaped Waffles, Because It’s Never Too Early To Play With Cars

I’m usually the first person awake in my house. I’m also the chef. It’s therefore my job to make sure my wife and daughter are greeted with a delicious breakfast every morning. On the weekends, that usually means traditional homemade waffles. This weekend? I made waffles that were shaped like little cars and trucks. It was a hit! Here’s everything you need to know, plus my recipe for making waffle batter.

When it comes to making waffles I generally go with the classic silver Cuisinart waffle maker. It’s round and nonstick and I’ve moved it about a dozen times and it still works (though pieces are falling off of it). It’s like $30 and makes perfectly-sized grids of deliciousness.

A couple of weeks ago I was on the phone with Bill Caswell and trying to explain the noise in the background was the sizzling of waffles. Bill goes 900% with everything he does and, no surprise at all, a big box from Amazon showed up at my place a few days later. Inside was this:

This is the Waffle Wow Cars & Trucks Waffle Maker. It’s like the Cuisinart, but it makes cars and trucks (and who says truth in advertising doesn’t still exist)?

Here’s what it’s like all opened up:

It’s a typical Amazon product in that it’s basically just plastic on the outside. I followed the simple instructions and cleaned off the tray. Then I whipped up some waffle batter and got to work (recipe below).

Because it has deep little recessions in the mold I think the best way to fill it up is using a small spoon, but you can also use a small funnel if you have one. As you can see here, I underfilled one of the trays and overfilled the other.

Considering these are waffles, I was pretty pleased with the level of detail you can get from the mold. It’s not perfect and they’re not little matchbox cars, but it’s generally clear what kind of vehicle you’re going to get. Here they are on the plate:

I made a few rounds of these and got better each time I did it, so the truck got better:

For the second round, I let the waffles stay in the mold a little longer and got a better shape. They’re fun and tasty! Here’s me trying to make a syrup road kept in by papaya and sausage. It sort of worked.

I reheated the first batch and, wouldn’t you believe it, there was snow on the ground:

Of course, my daughter refused to eat them until it snowed on top of the waffles as well.

You can buy the waffle maker here and, if you do and use that link, we might get a commission. This is a hilarious way to make money, but it would be silly not to include a referral link. (Editor’s note: The waffle space has been ripe for e-mobility-focused disruption for years now. -PG)

Here’s my recipe, if you’re curious:

Matt’s Waffle Recipe

Ingredients 

DRY

2 Cups of all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice mix

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

smidgen of salt

WET

1/4 cup of melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 cups of milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)

1 glug of vanilla extract

WHAT TO DO

Take all the dry stuff and put it in a bowl and mix it. In another bowl, beat the eggs, mix in the milk, slowly mix in the melted and slightly cooled butter (so it doesn’t cook the eggs). Take the wet stuff and slowly beat it into the dry stuff until you have a slightly runny batter. Don’t overmix. Wait a few minutes.

Before you heat up the waffle maker, wipe it down, dry it, and then spray it with cooking spray.

Once the waffle maker is warm, use a spoon or small measuring cup to add the batter. Cook the waffles. Eat them. Serve in fun ways.

Note: I don’t do a yeasty, Belgian-style waffle because my daughter seems to like a little chewier of a pancake or waffle. My guess is a firmer batter would probably yield a harder, slightly more detailed shell. If you want it to be more Belgian you can add a tablespoon of sugar, remove half a cup of liquid. If you want to make actual Belgian waffles you can follow this recipe from King Arthur Baking.

Enjoy!