Eggs are a necessary part of waffle batter, but if you want to take it up a notch, try separating the egg yolk from the egg white and whipping up something special. It takes a little more time to prepare, but if you have a few minutes, it's worth it.
Why Separate Egg Whites
Even though the egg yolk and egg white end up in the batter together, by separating them, you can prepare them differently. By whipping extra air into the egg whites, you can create a light and delicate foam that carries that air into the waffle batter.
When the batter is light and airy, so are the waffles.
How To Separate Egg Whites
There are a number of techniques to getting the egg yolk and egg white separate.
The simplest is to break the egg into a bowl and scoop out the egg yolk with a large spoon, dropping yolk into a separate bowl. This works most times, but occasionally the yolk will break making it impossible to separate.
Personally, I follow a different method. Crack the egg in half over a bowl and open it slowly, making sure not to drop the yolk in the bowl. Carefully, pass the yolk back and forth between the two halves of the shell, letting the egg white drip into the bowl. Once you're done getting most of the egg white into the bowl (there's always some small amount left in the shell with the yolk, that's ok), put the egg yolk in a separate bowl.
Beating Egg Whites
Once you have the egg whites separated, it's time to whip them up. With either a whisk (cheapest) or an electric hand beater (easiest), beat the egg whites until they becomes frothy. It can take a few minutes to get going, but once it starts to happen, you'll know it.
Keep whipping until the foam can stand on its own like a mountain (this is called "stiff peaks").
Adding To The Batter
Once the rest of the waffle ingredients are prepared, slowly add the egg whites to the batter with a flat spoon or spatula. "Folding" is the technical term for this process, but just know that you want to add them in so that they stay relatively airy.
It's important to have everything else ready beforehand, since you want to keep the amount of mixing to a minimum once the egg whites are in there. Too much mixing will release the air, defeating the point of all that whipping.
Now just pour the batter into the waffle maker as usual, but be prepared for some really special waffles.
