Best ever yeasted waffles recipe

I'm posting this recipe here because I was glorying in the aroma the morning I made these on Facebook and friends have asked for the recipe.

These are the most amazing waffles - we got the recipe from Cooks Illustrated Holiday 2007 magazine. The difference from chemically leavened (baking powder/soda) waffles is that they crisp up so beautifully and are light and airy. You make the batter the night before and let it rise in the fridge (some yeasted recipes call for leaving out on the counter, but the yeast moves too quickly and then baking soda needs to be added and the batter gets a bit tangy).

I doubled this recipe with great results and got 10 square waffles from my Black & Decker Griddle/Wafflebaker (this was rated "best buy" both Cooks Illustrated and Consumer Reports - and it's affordable - I dream of the Kitchen Aid Pro, but this one makes really good waffles (better than the Krups Belgium Iron I have too - it does look like it was made in the 80's though).

Here's the ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 8 tblsp. butter (calls for unsalted, but i didn't have any so I didn't use the 1 t. added)
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (they go into long description of flours tried, all purpose was the best for this recipe)
• 1 tblsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast (I used Fleishman's Rapid Rise)
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1 t. vanilla extract

The night before:

Heat milk & butter in small saucepan over medium low heat until butter is melted, 3-5 minutes (I used pyrex measuring cup and the microwave at 30 second intervals until butter was melted). Whisk flour, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl to combine (make sure this bowl fits in your fridge and that it has enough room for the yeast to double the batch overnight). Gradually whisk warm milk-butter mixture into flour mixture; continue to whisk until batter is smooth. In small bow, whisk eggs and vanilla until combined, then add egg mixture to batter and whisk until incorporated. Scrpae down side of bowl with rubber spatula, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and put in fridge for at least 12 (up to 24) hours.

The morning:

Heat waffle iron, remove waffle batter from fridge and iron is hot (batter will be foamy and double in size). Whisk batter to recombine (batter will deflate). Bake waffles according to your waffle iron instructions and INHALE one of the best fragrances known to man - oh my heavens - it is glorious!

Serve waffles immediately or hold in 200-degree oven (baking sheet w/ cooling rack to hold waffles, cover with clean tea towel - but remove towel for a few minutes before serving to re-crisp the waffles). It also recommends room-temperature syrup as the hot syrup soaks into the waffles too quickly and softens their texture (CI thinks of everything!)

Oh, and a side note - single ladies - if your man enjoys looking at Cooks Illustrated better than Sports Illustrated put a ring on it - you won't be sorry!

Enjoy!!!