6 Best Heart-Shaped Waffle Makers for the Cutest Valentine's Day Breakfast

Showing your love by making waffles is a great idea. But showing love by making heart-shaped waffles? That's next-level romance. And while heart waffle-worthy events like Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries and brunches may not require a serious tone, testing in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab certainly does — even for adorable heart-shaped waffle makers.

How we tested heart-shaped waffle makers

To help you find the perfect appliance for your Valentine's Day breakfast and beyond, I tested seven popular waffle makers in our Lab, cooking multiple rounds of waffles made from boxed pancake and waffle mix as well as from a homemade recipe. Why test each maker with two different batters? Boxed mixes contain more leavening agents than common homemade waffle recipes require. This means that waffles from boxed mixes generally rise more quickly than homemade waffles, and this was critical in terms of sustained contact with the grid on the top surface of the machine. These small heart-shaped waffles cook quickly, and some of the homemade waffles were smoother on top because the heating and design of the machine did not ensure the divots created by the top of the waffle maker.

For both batters, I tested plain waffles and waffles with chocolate chips as a mix-in. (You know, for science...) I noted the time it took each machine to preheat, how long it took to cook the waffle, the browning and texture of each waffle, how hot the waffle maker got while in use and how easy it was to clean.

After tallying up the results, these are my top picks for the best heart-shaped waffle makers you can buy.