On November 18, 2009 Kellogg Co. reported a nationwide shortage of its popular Eggo frozen waffles until the middle of 2010 because of interruptions at two of the four plants that make them. Historic amounts of rain closed a plant in Atlanta, and production lines at the bakery in Rossville, Tennessee were closed indefinitely for repairs. Once I heard the news I bounced to my local supermarket and snagged some of the last few boxes of Eggos on the freezer shelves to pound out a recipe for the homestyle version of these waffles (plus three other popular varieties—see Tidbits). Now the Eggo-deprived could fill the hole in their freezer with a worthy substitute until the real Eggos returned. But I never did print the recipe in a book.

Eggo toaster waffles are round, so I looked everywhere for a waffle iron that will produce round waffles small enough to fit into your toaster. No such luck. I finally called off the search when I decided that waffle shape is an unimportant detail. What really matters is that your waffles taste the same as the original, and heat up the same way in a toaster when you are ready to serve them. So that’s how I designed my Eggo Waffles recipe.

With this recipe, you make waffles that are slightly undercooked so that they can be frozen and reheated later in a standard toaster without overcooking. Most waffle irons produce rectangular waffles that fit nicely into a toaster, but even the waffles that come out of round waffle irons are easy to break in half or in quarters so that they completely fit all the way into the toaster slot when you’re ready to eat them. Just be sure to set your toaster on its lowest or second-lowest setting when you heat them up.

Today, Eggo Waffles are plentiful on store shelves. But if there is ever another shortage in this waffle’s future, you are now prepared.

Find more of your favorite breakfast copycat recipes here.