Black and Decker Waffle Maker Review by Ramona

My family is ridiculously obsessed somewhat fond of waffles…so much so, that they would eat them for every meal if given the chance. They would eat them here or there, they would eat them anywhere, with a fox, in a box (can you tell what story we just read for nap time?) …  My four-year-old asks me every time we leave the house if I am going to bring him home a waffle.  My husband will pile 6 at a time into the microwave just for himself. You can see how this adds up! I have purchased many of the whole grain good-for-you varieties but they are easily twice as expensive as the store brand ones and they don’t have a family or bulk size that I have seen. I cringe when I have to purchase the family size box with hardly any nutritional value whatsoever. I know they aren’t made with battery acid or anything, but hey, I try to get in the whole grains when I can!

So, the other night while making a mad dash trip to the grocery store for a few forgotten items, my four-year-old screams and bolts through the aisles as if he has just seen Chucky Cheese passing out free tokens. Following him, quite curious as to what my tube-fed child would be so excited about in a grocery store, I found him standing in the aisle with small appliances and utensils. Really? Kroger now sells small kitchen appliances? Who knew? With a smile the size of Montana and eyes like saucers he showed me … the waffle makers.  We had talked about a waffle maker in the past but a few that we saw were crazy expensive and because we don’t get out much, we haven’t run across them since that time. The model in front of us now was the Black and Decker WBM500 Belgian Waffle Maker. From the picture of the box, it appeared to be easy to use, small enough to store, and displayed a beautiful fluffy waffle that was neatly divided into four sections when removed from the maker. Knowing that there was no way I could now leave this store without said waffle maker, I glanced down at the price expecting to laugh out loud. Shockingly, it was only $18. 97! Being a believer that you get what you pay for, I was a little skeptical, but we went ahead with our purchase. On the way home, my four-year-old and I began discussing which creations we would attempt first. My excitement was mounting. I could now make delicious homemade waffles in any flavor I wanted.

Later that evening I took the waffle maker out of the box (with great force, I might add. It was really hard to get out!) and began examining it and reading the directions. The next morning, the boys and I threw together our first waffle recipe. I used  buckwheat pancake and waffle mix, 1 egg, oil, and milk (which the box calls for) and we threw in cinnamon and blueberries. The directions say to plug the waffle maker in and wait a few minutes for it to preheat. We did so and after about 4 min, the light on top went from orange to green, indicating that is was ready. I opened the top of the maker and carefully poured in a little over 3/4 C of mix, spread it out with a spoon and shut the lid. The directions say that the light will again switch from orange to green when it is ready. This took 4 minutes exactly. When I saw the light switch, I immediately wished it had a buzzer, or timer, or something to indicate with sound that this process was complete. Otherwise, you have to stand there for four minutes, waiting for the light to change. Not sure about you, but I usually have ALOT going on in my house at any given time. A lot can happen to distract someone in four minutes! It would be nice to have an audible reminder when my waffle is done. Aside from that, when I opened the lid, I was pleasantly surprised to see a fluffy brown waffle, neatly divided into four sections. A success! I was easily able to lift it out with a fork. Clean-up is as easy as wiping it down with a damp rag.  I made a huge batch of waffle mix and just stored it in the refrigerator so we could have waffles again the next day. The following day I froze the leftover waffles to save for another day when I didn’t have quite as much time. Now, I can totally see the need for a larger waffle maker in the future when the budget allows, but for now this will do just fine. I can’t wait to make more waffle creations! Next on the list is pumpkin waffles! Look out Aunt Jemima, there’s a new girl in town!

Overall, a great product for the price, and it will save me a ton of money in the long run. Although not quite as convenient as frozen packaged waffles, in my mind, a much healthier option for just a little extra effort!

I would give this (based on the lack of audible timer) 4 cups of Joe!