Preheat your waffle iron and spray with non-stick spray or brush with oil. The cooking spray does leave more residue on your waffle iron.
Place egg whites in a deep medium mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until they are foamy. Use a stainless steel or glass bowl and make sure there is no residue on your mixing bowl.
Add 2 tbsp sugar to egg whites and beat until they are stiff.
Beat the yolks together in a small bowl and then carefully fold them into the egg white mixture.
Measure two cups of milk into a measuring cup and add 1 tsp of egg mixture but don't stir.
Mix flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl.
Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. There will be a few little lumps in the batter. Don't overmix it.
Carefully fold the egg mixture into the batter with a spatula.
Gently stir in the melted butter and vanilla. I melt my butter, sliced into tbsp size pieces, in a small bowl in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds.
Spoon in enough batter to barely cover the bottom of the waffle iron so bottom of waffle iron is not showing. Spread batter out to the edges if you want a smooth round waffle. Make sure you don't overfill it or you'll have waffle batter coming down the sides of your waffle iron. You can also pour in a smaller amount and smooth the waffle out or you can just leave the edges uneven. The size really isn't important and is totally up to you.
Cook waffle according to your waffle iron directions. The waffle should be a nice golden brown color. So waffles you have cooked don't get cold, place them in the oven to keep them warm at 200 degrees until you are ready to eat.
Serve waffle warm with butter and other toppings of your choice. It is yummy with my homemade blueberry syrup, maple syrup, hazelnut spread, fruit jam, fruit and whipped cream or powdered sugar.
This recipe makes 5 large Belgian waffles. You can make waffles smaller if you prefer. Calories based on 5 servings.