My family,  like many enjoys pancakes or even better- waffles- on Sunday mornings.  Crispy on the outside, puffy, tender golden brown waffles.  I’ve been making them for years using my almost eighteen year old Toastmaster waffle iron and we all love them.

Just recently, the old Toastmaster started having a bit of trouble with waffles sticking to the pan.   Good excuse to review a new waffle maker.  I dislike giving a completely negative review, so I will say that the Cuisinart waffle maker has a lovely stainless steel exterior and comes with complete instructions, including some recipes.

I followed all the instructions exactly, including seasoning the griddle plates before the first use.  All the waffles stuck to some degree.  As expected the first ones stuck the most.  I used the temperture setting three as recommended in the manual, and it did seem better than the others.

The manual says to use 1/2 cup of batter.  This is not enough batter for the pan and is certainly not enough to spread with a spatula as it instructs.  You can see in our photo the misshapen results of using a spatula.  What does work is to use about 2/3 of a cup of batter and pour it carefully in a circle around the griddle, ending with a bit in the center.  This produced our only decent roundish waffles.  Of all our test waffles, only one came out round and the size of the pan. 

The maker itself feels flimsy, the hinges wobble and it does not sit securely on the counter.  I wish I could say this was a keeper, but it’s not even close.  My old Toastmaster waffle iron, with the occasionally sticking waffle is unquestionably better than this new one.

Product description:

Bakes one large traditional-style waffle
Five-setting browning control
Regulating thermostat
Red and green “ready to bake/ready to eat” indicator lights
Nonstick baking plates
Brushed stainless steel housing
Instruction/Recipe book
Limited 3-year warranty

Retails for around 29.99