So yeah, we’ve all seen those pinterest posts about moms slaving away over cutesy themed breakfasts for birthdays, holidays, breast cancer awareness, and about 80 billion other things that I simply don’t have the time to redesign my entire menu around. But seriously, I’m about to give you a mind-blowingly simple recipe that is pretty much as easy as pulling pancake mix out of the pantry, and tastes about a million times better. Patriotic Velvet Waffles. Yeah, I said it. I’m making a theme breakfast…. and it’s not one that I had to slave for hours over, either.

Your waffles start with some Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix and Duncan Hines Blue Velvet Cake Mix. We are all pretty familiar with Red Velvet Cake, which is rich and delicious and chocolatey, but if you haven’t seen the new Blue Velvet Mixes in store, let me tell you about them really quickly. They’re brand new, and they’re actually one of the very cool Duncan Hines things I got to see when I visited the Test Kitchen last fall. I wasn’t allowed to tell you about them until they hit stores, but now that they’re there, boom! I get to tell you. Similarly to a Red Velvet cake mix, the Blue Velvet has a rich, velvety texture with a buttery flavor, and it has an amazing pop of color. But, instead of being a chocolate flavor, it’s vanilla! Now, I opted to make BOTH blue velvet and red velvet waffles, because, hello, who doesn’t love a chocolate-and-vanilla breakfast once in awhile, and again, the recipe is crazy easy, so it doesn’t take that much effort. If you only plan to make one of the two mixes, of course, you won’t need all four eggs and all that jazz.

For each cake mix, start by adding 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 Tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a dash of salt, as well as 2 eggs.

Also add 2 cups of cold milk. Stir until combined; there may still be a few lumps. Heat up your waffle iron, and prepare in the waffle iron as you would any other waffles. I found these took just a smidge longer than my regular waffles, but not by much.

Can y’all tell I have a little habit of over-filling my waffle maker? I’m always petrified of underfilling it! Anyway, you’ll get some luscious stacks of blue and red velvet waffles.

And a fancy breakfast ends up being that simple… I served mine with Duncan Hines Comstock Wilderness Cherry Pie Filling and a little spritz of whipped topping, but you can use syrup, chocolate syrup, Duncan Hines Amazing Glazes, drizzle them with slightly melted frosting, or whatever other topping your heart desires. Because these taste a whole heck of a lot like cake, they’re actually really yummy without any topping, too… just grab and go!

If you want to make these, but need a smaller portion for your family, you can also look for Duncan Hines Summer Velvets– a cake mix that contains enough for a 2-layer 8-inch round cake with a blue layer and a red one (essentially, enough for 6-7 red waffles and 6-7 blue ones). If you’re making the Summer Velvets, just half the recipe shown above– adding 1/2 a cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour, half a tablespoon sugar, 3/8ths teaspoons (or a very generous pinch) baking powder, dash of salt, half a teaspoon of vanilla, and one egg, plus a cup of cold milk– for EACH of the two mixes in the box. Personally, I have a big family, so I do two boxes.

The best part? This recipe waaay outlasts 4th of July. Try the same recipe with a yellow cake mix and add in sprinkles for birthdays. Use the Spring Velvets pink and yellow cake mix in the spring or the Christmas Velvets red and green at Christmas time. Use a chocolate cake mix because… duh, who needs a holiday to eat chocolate waffles?

They’re so easy, so delicious, and like I said, not much more difficult than just grabbing some pancake mix from the pantry.

 

Do you do themed holiday breakfasts? What’s your go-to breakfast option?