Vafler – The Best Norwegian Waffles

I grew up in the US, but my mother is Norwegian so my family would often spend our summer vacation in Norway, which I loved.

Well of course I loved it, because I eventually moved to Norway. I loved the mountains, I loved the fjords, I loved my grandparents’ dog Petrushka, but most of all I loved the Norwegian heart waffles, or vafler in Norwegian. In fact if you took away the mountains, fjords, and dog, I think Norway might still have been my favorite place in the world for the waffles alone.

Am I exaggerating? Try these waffles and decide for yourself. Though be warned: Norwegian waffles might just ruin all other waffles for you because they are so much better than other waffles. Whenever I order Belgian waffles I’m now a bit disappointed because they’re simply not as flavorful as Norwegian waffles. They really are the best!

First, you will need a Norwegian waffle iron, like this one, for these. The cute thing about Norwegian waffles is that they’re heart shaped!

Norwegian waffle irons aren’t just special because of the heart shapes of the waffles, but they also make a thinner waffle than Belgian waffle irons. So you really will need a Norwegian waffle iron to make authentic Norwegian waffles. I can assure you you’ll get a lot of use out of your Norwegian waffle iron.

In fact most of my American friends who have visited me in Norway then went home and bought heart waffle irons of their own, because they loved Norwegian waffles so much.

A waffle iron was also the very first thing I bought for my kitchen when I moved to Norway. I bought one even before I had a toaster – and then proceeded to use it to toast bread for a good six months. It worked!

Tips

There are a few secrets to making perfect Norwegian vafler. And not to be a Norwegian waffle snob, but not all vafler are equally delicious. Luckily my grandmother taught me all her secrets to making the absolute best Norwegian waffles – and now here I am sharing her secrets with the Internet.

First, the batter needs to be quite thin! Norwegian waffle batter is a lot thinner than Belgian waffle or American pancake batter. You want to be able to drink it like eggnog (but don’t actually drink it). When I make these with friends from abroad they’re often surprised by how thin this waffle batter is. So don’t worry if the batter is thin – it is meant to be that way.

Second, you don’t want to add too much sugar. These should only lightly be sweetened, if at all. Of course if you really do want very sweet waffles you can add extra sugar. But traditionally Norwegian waffles are only a bit sweet and I do think they taste best that way. You can sweeten them with toppings.

You can use ground cardamom for this recipe, but if you have a mortar and pestal I highly recommend grinding cardamom seeds instead, as freshly ground seeds are much more flavorful. If you only have ground cardamom, I would double the amount in the recipe.

Also feel free to add any leftover dairy products you have in your fridge, like sour cream, heavy cream, or creme fraiche. The most important thing here is the consistency – just make sure the batter isn’t too thick. In fact I usually don’t use a recipe when i make these – I just add whatever I have in my fridge until it looks like waffle batter.

Norwegians put all sorts of toppings on their waffles. Most common toppings include Norwegian brown cheese, strawberry jam (sometimes with some sour cream) or even just plain butter.

Or they’ll make savory waffles without sugar and add normal sandwich toppings like ham, cheese, or smoked salmon. The options are endless.

And if you’re a fan of Norwegian brown cheese, you need to try this brown cheese and white chocolate chip cookie recipe.

When I have visitors from abroad I also like to serve waffles with cloudberry jam, so they can try Norway’s favorite berry as well! You can order cloudberry jam on Amazon here.

Personally I love to top my waffles with crushed strawberries instead of strawberry jam. In the summer I’ll mash some fresh strawberries, when they’re in season, sometimes adding a bit of sugar, and in the winter I’ll defrost and mash frozen strawberries.

I hope you love this Norwegian waffle recipe as much as I do, and maybe Norwegian waffles will become a weekly staple in your home as well?

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.