waffles

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, these brunch-ready waffles are brimming with fragrant spice and crunchy pistachios. The sweet and tart pomegranate honey syrup is a special touch.

This recipe (originally from Aretha Frankenstein's restaurant in Chattanooga, TN) is the ideal I-just-woke-up-from-a-waffle-dream waffle, a morning-of alternative to the overnight yeasted kind. The cornstarch in the batter helps tamp down gluten formation, making these waffles silky and moist inside with a crust as thin and crisp as an eggshell.

I am a very big fan of texture in my cornbread, so I almost always opt for using coarsely ground cornmeal over the finer stuff. These waffles are no exception, and the coarse cornmeal gives them a wonderfully crisp texture. If this isn't your cup of tea, substitute a finer cornmeal instead.

These waffles are a riff on a recipe my brother Dean discovered in Killington, Vermont. He has played around with the proportions over the years, but says the key to making them great is to use pearl sugar—and lots of it.

Ultra-crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and the tiniest bit chewy, these waffles are phenomenal not in spite of the full package of tofu, but because of it. They happen to be vegan, but no one will guess.

Sweet potato waffles, pumpkin waffles and the like seem always saddled with pumpkin pie spices, which is not a bad thing per se, but I felt like I needed to break free. Sweet potatoes are delicious with so many things, I wanted to make a waffle that echoed that adaptability and would be delicious with savory toppings as well as sweet. These are phenomenal with maple syrup, of course, but they're also delicious with eggs, sausages, avocado, turkey and cranberry, whatever you please!

These are our go-to waffles come the weekend. We use a thinner waffle maker (the heart-shaped one, not the Belgian style), which results in a nice crisp waffle. Make sure you go for a really sharp cheese, like an aged cheddar or robust pecorino, as the cheese flavor gets muted in the cooking. Also, don't be tempted to use just a stick of butter; you need all 9 tablespoons. (I've tried going with just 8 and it's not as good!) Serve these warm and enjoy with all the brunch fixins: crispy bacon, lox, or one of the other suggestions below.

Makes about six (7-inch) Belgian-style waffles, to serve 6 to 8

This is the cake to make for the breakfast lovers in your life, and the best part is it looks like it takes a lot more work than it does, so you can celebrate everything from birthdays to weddings in impressive breakfast style with ease.

Add herbs or spices if you like: a couple of teaspoons of fresh rosemary or thyme, or half a teaspoon of smoked paprika or ground cumin.