~ The Checkerboard Guy's World of Checkerboard Food ~

Which came first the checkerboard pattern or the taste for yummy waffles? Hard to say... The Checkerboard Guy's distinctive costume and his enjoyment of waffles started around the same time. Coincidence? Hmmmm... Though waffles were the first checkerboard cuisine to grace The Checkerboard Guy's table, they certainly weren't the last... For your checkerboard food enjoyment The Checkerboard Guy now shares the recipe behind some of the tastiest treats around...Enjoy!

The Original "Waffles of Destiny"

Recipe Origin: This recipe is one that's been tweaked over the years by "The Checkerboard Guy" himself.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup of milk

Recipe Origin: This recipe was found on the internet somewhere and again tweaked a bit to suit the CBG's particular taste for all things yummy and checkered!

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce (square) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate in double boiler over low heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
   
2. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, cream butter or margarine and sugar together, beat in eggs, then vanilla and almond extract. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well.
   
3. Put one half of prepared dough into another bowl and blend the melted chocolate into it. You now have one half chocolate dough and one half plain dough.
   
4. Divide each of these in half. You now have four pieces of dough, two chocolate and two plain. Form each of these into a squared off log.
   
5. On a large sheet of foil place one chocolate log and one plain log next to each other, Brush each with water. Place remaining plain log on top of the chocolate side. Place the remaining chocolate log on top of the plain side. Wrap the four logs firmly in the foil and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
   
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (205 degrees C).
   
7. Remove dough from foil and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks and eat as soon as humanly possible with out burning your tongue. Milk helps cool down your mouth!

Best Waffle Recipe You'll Ever Want

Recipe Origin: This recipe came to me from my good friend Jessica Cowan via her Mother. It was her mom who came up with the official name for these waffles...I'll let you be the judge as to where it's accurate or not.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 1 egg
• 3 tbs. cooking oil
• 1 & 1/3 cups of club soda

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a big bowl. Mix well. Pour into a hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Real Maple Syrup comes highly recommended.

Super-Secret, Guarded-by-ninjas, Vanhoucke Family Waffle Recipe

Recipe Origin: This recipe was secretly passed on to me by fellow performer Mike Wood who could loosely be described as a Flayling Belgian Monkey Comedy Boy/Mining Engineer - figure that one out if you can... At any rate, this Belgian waffle recipe must be good as Mike's family and the recipe are of Belgian decent. How cool is that!!! Mike is also trying to track down his mother's lukken recipe. Lukken are a Belgian cookie that are also made in a iron much like a waffle iron. You just know I'm going to get one of those too! Yippee!

Ingredients:

• 1 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cups whipping cream or buttermilk -- if you're on a diet :)
• 3/8 cup melted butter -- so that's 3/4 of one of those 1/4lb sticks.

Directions: Combine dry ingredients. Beat eggs and whipping cream together, add butter, beat into dry ingredients until batter is smooth and "glossy". Bake waffle until it stops steaming. Favourite toppings: cottage cheese and canned peaches, or blueberries and maple syrup. Serves 2 very hungry farmhands.