marytara's Full Review: Spectra KT5221 Waffle Maker
My husband gave me this Hello Kitty waffle maker for Christmas. It wasn't my main gift, but it could very well have been, since its my favorite! While we were doing some last minute holiday shopping in Target we passed an endcap that had some Hello Kitty appliances marked down. He pointed out the toaster to me which burns Hello Kitty into your toast and asked if I liked it. I told him I thought it was adorable but that I don't eat a lot of toast and I like my toast very light. I showed him the Hello Kitty wafflemaker and said that it looked like it would be fun though. Most weekends we go over to his mother's house and her husband makes waffles for the kids using a special waffle maker that makes waffles in the shapes of animals and everyone (especially the kids) loves it. He took a mental note that must have said something like "Hello Kitty Toaster No, Hello Kitty Waffle Maker Yes" because guess what I got under the Christmas tree? You betcha.. this Hello Kitty Waffle Maker.
I was really excited to try it but I feared that it would be a piece of junk since a lot of the Hello Kitty appliances are way too plasticky. Of course I had no waffle mix and wasn't going to make one up from scratch so it had to wait a few days for me to get to the supermarket.
Cooking up some Kitty
To use the Hello Kitty Waffle Maker you plug it in and then flip the on/off switch on the side of it. There's a small light in the center of her hairbow that looks sort of like a jewel. The light turns on while the waffle maker is heating up and then will turn off when it reaches the ideal temperature - in about 7 or so minutes.
Once the light has gone off the waffle maker is ready for cooking. I spray the non-stick aluminum surfaces with some PAM cooking spray first because even though they are non-stick the instructions state that it should be greased up a little bit with some oil. Then I put in a small amount of waffle batter into each of the hello kitty shapes. There are 4 shapes, 2 larger Hello Kitties and 2 smaller ones that are her friends (a bunny and a bear). The instructions state how high to fill them, or else they will spill over. Once filled I close the wafflemaker and lock it shut (it has a clasp on the front). I watch the timer on my stove and in about 3 minutes or so I open it and my waffles are done. This is a very simple waffle maker and doesn't have a timer on it - which is the only thing that I think it really needs.
Each time you get 4 waffles which are very petite and serve about 1 person (hungry people will eat more than that). I love the waffles that this waffle maker produces because they are a perfect size for a light breakfast and for kids. On one side of the waffle is the cute little hello kitty and then the other side looks like a regular waffle with the grid pattern. My husband likes to butter and syrup the flipside instead of the faces but everyone else eats them Hello Kitty side up. There IS something disconcerting about watching someone stab Hello Kitty in the head with a fork, though.
Cleaning up this waffle maker is a breeze and it can be easily wiped down between uses and put away. Ours, however, has made a permanent home on our counter because the kids and I love it so much. Its quick and easy and I don't mind making the waffles for my son even on schooldays because its so early. He's only in kindergarden and doesn't totally "get" that Hello Kitty is supposed to be a 'girl' thing. He likes it because I like it, and thats fine with me. My son is sort of like Buddy the Elf with pouring Maple Syrup on things, so he'd consume the waffles no matter what shape they take.
The waffle maker comes with instructions and a couple of recipes to make waffle batter and a few varieties of it (tea, chocolate, etc). The instructions and recipes are clearly translated from Asia and the English is not all that great. The recipes are all in Ounces and call for things to be weighed or strained through tea strainers and such. I'll stick with my instant waffle mix which is working just fine for me!
Overall, a really cute appliance that makes adorable waffles. Hello Kitty fans who want novelty appliances will love it. Kids who like to eat waffles will enjoy it too!
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