It hadn't occurred to us until our little son Gio started eating real breakfasts that a waffle iron is a magical item. You pour cold, lumpy batter into a mysterious machine, leave it alone for a while and open it to find hot nut-brown waffles inside! He just loves them. Now, when Gio wakes up at 7 am, he is ready to begin his day; we are still bleary from a night in the restaurant. He demands to "mix now," but the last thing we want to do is cook. So we devised a waffle recipe that is improved by being started the night before. Use quick-cooking oats for a tender waffle, plain if you prefer a more substantial, chewy waffle. The light tang of orange juice and buttermilk add a wonderful flavor. Serve with butter and spiced apple butter or maple syrup. With the orange-and-oat flavors of the waffles, plus melting butter and maple syrup, what could be better than cold, fresh apple cider? Garnished with apple butter and whipped cream they taste like apple pie ala mode, only in breakfast form.

Ingredients

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter, plus more for cooking
• Allspiced Apple Butter, recipe follows
• Whipped cream, for garnish
• Fresh berries, for garnish, optional
• Equipment: Waffle iron

Directions

Allspiced Apple Butter:

• 5 pounds apples, like MacIntosh or Ida, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 pound light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice, preferably freshly ground