BLT, but make it breakfast!

The trusty lunch-counter trinity of bacon, lettuce, and tomato takes the form of breakfast here, sandwiched between savory bacon and cheddar waffles and topped by a fried egg with crisp edges and a luxuriously molten yolk. You can wrap the whole thing up and eat it on the run, or cook up some hash browns and enjoy breakfast at home.

To make the waffles

1. Heat the oven to 425F. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until browned and crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 225F and place a wire rack on a pan in the center of the oven.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir together the eggs, milk and melted butter in a separate bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, stirring until thoroughly combined. Add the cheese and stir until fully incorporated into the batter.
3. Heat a classic (not Belgian) waffle iron to medium-high heat according to the manufacturer's instructions (see notes). Fill with just enough batter to reach the edge of the iron once closed (we recommend leaning towards under-filling instead of over-filling the first one), and cook until waffle is golden brown (when the steam starts to diminish from the waffle iron, you can open the top and check for doneness). Transfer directly to rack in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter until you have at least 12 waffle squares.

To assemble

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat until foaming, about 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Swirl the butter in the pan until the bottom is evenly coated. Add 3 of the eggs, season with salt and pepper, and fry until the whites are set and starting to brown on the edges but the yolks are still runny, about 4 to 5 minutes. (The egg whites will be fully cooked, so no need to flip the eggs over.) Remove to a side plate and repeat with the remaining butter and eggs.
3. Spread the mayonnaise on half of the waffles and top each with a fried egg. Divide the tomato and arugula over the eggs, top with the bacon slices, and close with the remaining waffles.
4. If serving immediately, cut each sandwich in half. To pack for mealtime, wrap each sandwich in parchment paper, cut in half, and wrap again in more parchment paper.

Nellie's Notes

For some extra bacon flavor, you can use the bacon fat produced during the cooking process to replace some or all of the melted butter in the waffle batter.

We find a 5" square classic waffle iron works best for this recipe. A Belgian-style waffle iron yielded waffles a bit too large and thick for this particular sandwich.

You can make the waffles ahead of time and just refrigerate them for up to 24 hours or freeze up to 2 weeks. To reheat, toast in a 325F oven directly on the rack until warmed through, about 5 to 7 minutes.