A subtle but noticeable twinge of vanilla is what can separate a great batch of waffles from waffles that are only pretty good. The aromatic quality and sweet presence of vanilla can help bring your ingredients together in a harmony of wonderful breakfast flavors, but what do you do if you find yourself all out of vanilla extract? You don’t have to worry about going without that vanilla flavor, as long as you’ve got some bourbon in your home bar.
The right bourbon can be your get-out-of-jail-free card if you’re short on vanilla extract, as it serves as a surprisingly effective substitute for vanilla extract that you can grab straight from the bar and use in your cooking. Bourbon, being a sweet liquor as far as strong spirits go, tends to carry some delicious vanilla notes, as well as other breakfast-friendly flavors such as butterscotch and caramel. Just make sure to grab a bourbon that doesn’t have much rye in its mash bill (as it can be quite spicy), and focus on one that stays closer to its sweet roots instead. You won’t miss your bottle of vanilla extract at all. Waffles are already deeply ingrained in American history, so you may as well give them even more of an American touch with some of Kentucky’s finest.
How to mix bourbon and waffles
So, bourbon can provide the kick of vanilla that your waffles need, but how do you go about bringing these two things together in the first place? Here’s the fun part: You can use bourbon in your batter or in a bourbon-infused syrup — or both if you’d like! Sweet bourbon is noted as having a buttery feel, which means that it will fit right in with a smooth and delectable bowl of buttermilk waffle batter. Just throw in a couple tablespoons of the liquor to give your batter the bourbon treatment. Not only will your bourbon give you the vanilla note that you seek, but its depth of other flavor notes will only serve to enhance the batter even more.
Alternatively (or in addition — the choice is yours), you could mix some bourbon into a homemade syrup. Just like how you can make a bourbon-infused whipped cream to top some of your favorite desserts, so too can you add bourbon to maple syrup for all your breakfast needs. The robust depth of floral and toffee-like flavor from maple syrup is only enhanced by the vanilla, caramel, and even woody notes of bourbon. Again, you only need about a spoonful of bourbon to achieve this goal, but the result is a delectable syrup just begging to be poured over those waffles. A little goes a long way here, but the end product is certainly worth the quick trip to your bar shelf.
