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How the Krups Belgian Waffle Maker makes my morning routine sweeter

My search for the perfect waffle finally ventured outside the freezer section — and onto my kitchen counter.
Mother and son making waffles in kitchen and image of a Krups waffle maker
Trading frozen waffles for the Krups Belgian Waffle Maker has saved me money and I get to continue enjoying my favorite breakfast.Getty Images ; Amazon

No other breakfast item satisfies my early morning cravings quite like waffles, which have a delectable textural combination of crispness and fluffiness. A morning waffle habit is very expensive, though — my partner and I can mow through several $4 boxes of frozen waffles in a month. To keep costs down, we eventually decided that we needed a waffle maker. While I try to avoid buying new kitchen appliances, the money we were spending on frozen waffles was obscene. We wanted a waffle maker that could make multiple waffles at a time — one waffle is never enough — and perhaps most importantly, we needed something easy to clean that wouldn’t make our already-cramped kitchen a total mess.

Krups Belgian Waffle Maker

What first caught our eye about the Krups waffle maker was that it could make four waffles at a time. For two people, each of whom eat two waffles in the morning, it was an ideal solution — all of our waffles are cooked in one batch, so neither of us is left grumpily waiting for round two. The square-shaped iron is divided into four smaller square quadrants, each one designed to cook a separate waffle. Even though you might expect the parts of the waffle closer to the center to cook differently than those near the edges, we haven’t seen any noticeably uneven cooking (as long as you use the correct amount of batter and spread it out evenly on the plate).

The waffle plates are removable and easily washable — they can be cleaned by hand or thrown in the dishwasher. The only mess we’ve encountered thus far was batter overflow from the griddle — it could help to have slightly more clearance between the edge and the actual griddle, but it’s not an issue with the correct amount of batter.

While my partner and I love the waffle maker overall, I’d have to leave the waffle in for longer than the 5-ish minutes it usually takes to cook if I wanted to achieve a crispier top. The waffles do cook evenly edge-to-edge, but this waffle maker doesn’t flip and the top is always far less browned than the bottom. Gravity only helped crisp one side, and pumping it with enough batter for a crisp top would lead the machine to overflow. So for whoever needs their waffles in a hurry, this may not be the ideal waffle maker.

Other waffle makers to consider

Oster Belgian Waffle Maker

If you don’t need four waffles at a time or just want a waffle maker to use for fun every once in a while, this Oster Belgian Waffle Maker only makes one waffle at a time and costs under $20. You can use the adjustable temperature control to customize the heat settings to your liking, and the handle is designed to stay cool while cooking to prevent injuries.

Cuisinart WAF-F20P1 Waffle Iron

A more premium option is this Cuisinart WAF-F20P1 Waffle Iron. You can make two large waffles at a time with two separate irons stacked on top of one another, which may offer more even cooking. However, it is slightly pricier than some of the other options out there.

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