Common wisdom say that you never, ever give your wife an appliance for her birthday, Christmas or anniversary.  I’m lucky to have a hubby who doesn’t listen to convention,  ‘cuz he gave me this spectacularly awesome DEATH STAR WAFFLE MAKER.  And I want to warn you that it is so majestically incredible, I will only use all caps when referring to it.

So since today is Waffle Day in Sweden, what better way than to celebrate with DEATH STAR WAFFLES!!!!!  

Today is 9 months before Christmas – the day called Annunciation here in the US’ Christian calendar.*** It’s the day when the angel Gabriel came to visit Mary to announce she was with child.  In Sweden it is called Vårfrudagen (Our Lady’s Day).  Vårfrudagen, if you say it fast,  sounds a lot like” våffeldagen” (waffle day).  So over time waffles have started being associated with this day, and March 25 has now became the official waffle day of Sweden.   Just like May the Fourth and Pi-Day,  it started as a play on words and took off.   And you know me,  I am all for word play celebrations!!!

Now,  to make our DEATH STAR WAFFLES extra special and particularly awesome, we decided to make them proper Death Star grey.  Once cooked however, they still looked a bit golden, but we got close.  We also tried Bantha Milk blue,  which was pretty awesome as well (though they turned out more turquoise than blue).

Now, before I get into the How-to’s, I want to wish you all a Blessed Easter!  In the busy-ness of life, we sometimes forget to enjoy our blessings.  This weekend is the perfect chance to reflect and be grateful for what we have, and share the love we have been given by our family, friends and by God.  

Needed:

• Waffle or Pancake Mix
• Eggs
• Milk
• Oil (if you use pancake batter,  add an additional ¼ cup of oil to the recipe)
• Cooking Spray
• Red and Blue Food Coloring for Grey DEATH STAR WAFFLES,
  or Blue Food Coloring only for Bantha Milk DEATH STAR WAFFLES
• Whipped Cream (optional)
• Fruit (optional )
• Maple Syrup (optional)

• And of course a DEATH STAR WAFFLE MAKER
• Spatula
• Measuring Cups
• Mixing Bowl

How To:

• Just follow the recipe on the mix box.  hm…  I supposed you can also make them from scratch.   
• Add food coloring.  You’ll need quite a bit. I used 12 drops of blue and 3 red.
• Make sure you spray the DEATH STAR WAFFLE MAKER with cooking spray in-between making each waffle.

Tips:

The instructions for the DEATH STAR WAFFLE MAKER calls for 1 cup of batter per waffle, but that is way too much, ¾ cup was perfect.

The DEATH STAR WAFFLES take much longer than the built-in timer suggests.  We put it on the longest setting, and then some.  (Though,  I would expect some of these settings to change for different types of batter.  We have been using a whole grain pancake mix, which is pretty dense, but oh so yummy!)

The DEATH STAR WAFFLES turned out a better when I held the lid down.  But be really, really, really, careful if you try that, since the DEATH STAR WAFFLE MAKER emits steam that can easily burn you.  I recommend using an oven-mit if you are going to try that.

The hubby and the kids preferred their DEATH STAR WAFFLES with whipped cream and blueberries.   Me, I’m a purist.  Maple syrup for me.

Get Supplies:

DEATH STAR WAFFLE MAKER
OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowls

Note:

*** This year (2016), in the US, the Annunciation actually falls on April 4th instead of March 25th, since by tradition, it  cannot be celebrated on Holy Week (Easter week).   However, in Sweden, Waffle Day remains the same day as always.