Oh. My. Waffle.

So, I met my new friend, Cas at a show we were both on. We both spoke of food and Italians and Italian food and family. And then we ate together. It was as if we shared a brain. Or a stomach...

Recently, Cas- who has a food blog- did an experiment involving random foods and a waffle iron. That's right, people- he made all sorts of food on a waffle iron!!! Find his recipes HERE! But he had me at the very first one he mentioned... Red Velvet Waffles. Sure, he made them with a simple cream cheese frosting and I went for buttercream. And sure, I have no business making myself a plate full of cake based waffles. But DAMN! These were friggin' good!!

RED VELVET WAFFLES

1 Box DUNCAN HINES Moist Delicious Red Velvet Cake mix

3 Large eggs

1/2 Cup butter, melted

3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp. Water

Mix all the ingredients EXCEPT the 2 Tbsp. water until well blended. If you feel the batter is too stiff at this stage, add 1 Tbsp. of the additional water, and the second if necessary. The day’s humidity may have an effect.

BEAT the batter on high speed for 2 minutes until smooth and velvety.

HOT WAFFLE IRON set or timed to just under maximum wellness. Again, leave room for spread because this batter will rise quite a bit (leave a quarter inch from edges and don’t pile it too high before closing the lid.

When you open, let steam escape for a good minute before trying to remove it from the griddle. During the cool time here, cut the wedges at the seams for easier removal, and gently transfer to serving plate.

These MUST be frosted, and you MUST try the following:

SIMPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1/4 Cup butter, at room temp

1/2 Cup (4 oz., or half a brick) regular (not whipped) cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 Cup confectioners sugar

Whip the butter and cream cheese together until smooth, then add the salt and vanilla, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat on high for about a minute until completely smooth.

Add the confectioners sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, fully incorporating each addition. Once all sugar is in, whip the frosting on high for a minute until fluffy.