There’s nothing better than waking up to the smell of something delicious cooking in the kitchen. Fresh coffee, sizzling bacon and the sweet smell of crispy waffles with a hint of maple syrup filling the air.

Monday, August 24th is National Waffle Day. Yes, National Waffle Day is an actual day to commemorate the date of a U.S. patent on the waffle iron in 1869. While waffles existed long before then, this invention made waffles more readily available. The Belgian Waffle made its way over to America during the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, but it wasn’t popular until the 1964 to 1965 World’s Fair was hosted in Queens, New York.

To help you get started celebrating National Waffle Day, try whipping up a batch of these delicious homemade waffles courtesy of Ree Drummond. You will need a waffle iron for this recipe. If you don’t have one, check out some of the 10 best waffle makers.

Waffles

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, separated, plus 2 additional egg whites
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, melted, plus softened butter, for serving
  • Warm syrup, for serving

Directions

  • Preheat a waffle iron to the regular setting.
  • Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and 2 egg yolks. Pour over the dry ingredients and very gently stir until halfway combined. Pour in the melted butter and continue mixing very gently until combined.
  • In a separate bowl using a whisk (or a mixer), beat the 4 egg whites until stiff. Slowly fold them into the batter, stopping short of mixing them all the way through.
  • Scoop the batter into your waffle iron in batches and cook according to its directions (lean toward the waffles being a little deep golden and crisp!).
  • Serve immediately with softened butter and warm syrup.

In addition to making your own waffles, we’ve also put together a couple different ways you can celebrate National Waffle Day.

How are you going to celebrate #NationalWaffleDay? Share with us in the comments below.