A few months ago, and honestly not for the first or realistically the last time, my family betrayed me. It started, almost predictably, with the youngest. I made waffles one morning, so proud of myself for remembering to start the yeasted waffle batter, my favorite, the night before — and my daughter told me that she prefers the waffles at grandma’s house. “What kind does grandma make?” I asked. “They’re in the freezer,” she told me. “I think they say ‘egg’ on them?”
I think we all know where this was going. I was traveling a wee bit over the last few months and decided before a trip to surprise her with a giant box of Eggos in the freezer. When I got home at the end of the week, the whole box was gone. It turns out that it isn’t just my daughter who prefers them, it’s my son too, and even my husband. The treachery!
A normal person who cooks might shrug and be at peace with having one less thing that needs to be made from scratch. I’m perfectly comfortable, for example, simply never making croissants at home. But waffles? I love homemade weekend morning waffles. So I did the less rational but very me thing and got very obsessed with cracking the code of homemade freezer waffles. I learned a few things along the way:
6 months ago: Eggplant Involtini
1 year ago: Castle Breakfast
2 years ago: Rigatoni alla Vodka
3 years ago: Perfect Vegetable Lasagna
4 years ago: Bodega-Style Egg and Cheese Sandwich and Chocolate Puddle Cakes
5 years ago: Slow-Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Korean-Braised Short Ribs
6 years ago: Small-Batch Tiramisu
7 years ago: Miso Black Sesame Caramel Corn and Hot and Sour Soup
8 years ago: Oven-Braised Beef with Tomatoes and Garlic and Pecan Sticky Buns
9 years ago: Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Hearts and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
10 years ago: Italian Stuffed Cabbage
11 years ago: Lasagna Bolognese
12 years ago: Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
13 years ago: Best Cocoa Brownies and Chana Masala
14 years ago: Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes and Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw
15 years ago: Seven-Yolk Pasta Dough and Best Chocolate Pudding
16 years ago: For Beaming, Bewitching Breads
Par-cook waffles: Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions and coat with nonstick spray. [I’m using this one.] Cook your first waffle until it’s just beginning to color on top and the shape just sets but is not fully cooked through; in my tiny iron this takes 30 to 60 seconds. I find it easiest to remove these very soft waffles by first poking into the side of the waffle with a knife point, just to lift the edge. Then, use tongs (which you can now slide under and over the waffle) to yank it out. Transfer/plop waffle quickly on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining batter.
Freeze waffles: Freeze waffles right on this rack until completely solid, an hour or two, or overnight. Once solid, transfer to an airtight bag or container.
Toast and serve: Place frozen waffles directly in toaster and cook until crisp and lightly browned outside. You can also toast them in an oven heated to 400°F, either on an oven-safe rack for 8 minutes, or on a baking sheet, flipping waffles over midway for even toasting.
Serve hot with a pat of salted butter and drizzle of maple syrup and lots of fresh berries, if you’re me, or however you like your waffles best.
Do ahead: Frozen waffles will keep in an airtight bag or container for months, or for as long as you freezer allows it without imparting them with a freezery taste.
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My 13 year old son (who received one of these tiny waffle makers as a gift) and I have been eagerly awaiting this recipe! Can’t wait to try it! Thank you!!
Ahhh! Printing this recipe, putting together the dry ingredients and ordering a tiny waffle iron for a birthday present for an 11yr old girl right now! Maybe a few sprinkles and a sprinkle hair clip for a bow🎂 Thanks for the fantastic idea.
I can now report back – they’re a hit for both the 13 year old waffle-maker owner and his 16 year old brother! Thanks, Deb!
An answer to a Marmee’s prayer for overnights with grandchildren! I can’t wait to make these.
What else are grandmas for!! Eggos and drumsticks, any time of day heh. My son ate pretty much only eggos and chicken nuggets for several years and I stressed to no end over it and now suddenly there’s very little he won’t eat, borne heavily by the grocery budget. These look very fun, going on the list for this week! I love that you didn’t just accept the toastiness from fully frozen waffles which you deal with when there are leftovers, although that’s less and less of a problem now. Also team yeasty overnight waffles forever, personally.
Excited to try these! Could you add protein powder to the batter?
If you wanted to make some for the freezer and some for breakfast all at once, could you just cook the “eat right now” ones until done? 😊
I don’t think the texture is right without a freeze in the middle. But no, they will not taste bad.
To taste-test a couple, I cooked until done and then put in toaster oven for 8 minutes or so to crisp them up. I am putting first batch in the freezer now and look forward to comparing taste and texture.
These are beautiful! Eggo waffles got me through pregnancy and I don’t think I’m yet ready to look at them again. You’re absolutely right about the texture being so key, though. That crunch!
Help—your link to the cooking spray you use links to the cute waffle iron. Please fix!
Which link?
The “I’m using this one” link
i think it’s intending to link to the waffle iron and not the cooking spray. i’m sure deb would be happy to share what spray she uses but also if it significantly impacted the recipe in any way she would have wrote it out in the notes or the recipe itself :)
(i know nobody cares what a random not-deb thinks on this topic but as a devoted pam user for eons [one of the few brand name things i insisted on] i recently used the target brand canola oil spray out of necessity and it’s literally the exact same at a fraction of the price. the only thing i dislike is that the lid doesn’t stay on very well.)
Ah, now I see. No, I don’t use anything special for nonstick spray (rhymes with shmam).
Stephanie, FWIW, I care! Just because we don’t have gazillion fans, fabulous cookbooks, websites, insta whatever, doesn’t mean we can’t learn from each other, right???!!!! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the hint on the Target brand one. Years ago I tried substitutes for the one that rhymes with Sham and was super disappointed. It actually stained my cookware! I’m willing to try something at a better price and Target does make good stuff so thanks.
Trying these soon! How many does this recipe make?
Deb’s recipe says it makes 16 – 18 4 inch waffles. 😊
These look amazing! How many Deb-o’s does the recipe make?
In my mini waffle maker, it makes 16-18.
16-18 small
Your yeasted waffle recipe makes the best waffles I have ever tasted, but, I can see how these freezer ones would come in very handy! I think you are right in that it has a lot to do with shape/texture. Now I’m craving waffles….
These are pretty darn cute! How much batter do you use for the 4” waffle maker? My mother-in-law gave my daughter one for her birthday and we haven’t used it yet!
About 1/4 cup, or slightly heaped 1/4 cup measure.
Hi!! Thrilled to try this. My 4 sweethearts love frozen waffles!! I read full post but didn’t see…could I sub sour cream ok for yogurt? Would it be the same as using Greek yogurt, so to use 1-2tbsp less and replace with milk or water? Thank you!!
I think sour cream would work fine here. If the batter is too thick, you can always add another spoonful of milk.
“Par-cook waffles: Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions and coat with nonstick spray. [I’m using this one.]”
To follow up on the exchange regarding a link to a waffle iron that a reader believed would lead to a recommended nonstick spray, I offer the quote from the recipe where clicking the word “this” lands on Amazon’s page for the appliance.
hi! I see it says in the ingredient list yogurt that is not greek. I have a ton of plain greek yogurt to use up, will it negatively affect the recipe if I use Greek instead of regular? Thank you!
The note at the bottom says that if you have Greek yogurt, use 1-2T less and sub in water or milk. I almost missed that too! :)
Can you just make pancakes with this recipe if you don’t have a waffle maker? (Dumb question? Maybe, but I’m having guests this weekend and my brain is spinning about what to have on hand for a while week.)
*whole* week, I meant.
I haven’t tested it as pancakes but it should work. Might be a touch eggier than normal, which is optimized for a waffle iron.
Can’t wait to make these. I made perhaps the fastest impulse purchase of my life just now, and my tiny waffle iron should arrive very soon!
You’ve dethroned Mark Bittmann, Ina Garten, and, um, yourself with this recipe! I’ll never make any other waffles! Welcome back and thank you for a perfect recipe. Did a “breakfast for dinner” thing this evening and served these waffles with an assortment of sweet toppings (jam, syrup, powdered sugar) and savory accompaniments (bellavitano cheese, chicken chili, roasted sweet potato). Used my battered Cuisinart waffle iron and each waffle came out golden and crispy and fluffy. Brava, Deb!
I do this sort of parbake effect with your essential waffles recipe all the time. I’m single, so even a half-batch of that recipe has me in waffles for a few days. Will have to try these for those days when I want waffles but hadn’t thought to prep the night before.
I literally bought one of those tiny waffle makers less than an hour ago before reading this post, which you serendipitously posted on the same day of my purchase.
This is a sign. Waffles for dinner. Thank you.
Deb, just keep the large empty box of Eggos and stuff your new homemade ones in there. I swear they will never know the difference. Thanks for the recipe.
Can’t wait to try these. Could I ask spinach to this? I always make spinach waffles for my kids. Normally just add spinach to the batter and blend it all up. Please let me know. thank you!!!
I haven’t tested it with blended spinach but I’m sure it would work if it’s worked in others.
Hah! This brings back memories of when our boys were little. One of Andrew’s first words was “wawa!” and no, he didn’t mean water.
i used to have the dash mini waffle maker. it was so cute and so cheap, and mine was pink so it matched my food processor and immersion blender. it’s just my partner and i so i thought it would be perfect. honestly…i very quickly learned it was a big mistake and after using it a few times it went out onto the curb. i’m surprised to hear you say how much you like yours. my problem was that it took forever (5+ minutes) to make one very tiny waffle. so if you only want 1 or 2, maybe it’s fine. but if you want to make a whole batch, or even enough to feed two or three normal sized humans, it takes AGES. like two hours standing there making waffles. which means when you finally reach the end you can either eat cold waffles, microwave and eat soggy waffles, or take them out of the oven at its lowest setting and eat dried out waffles.
i guess for this very specific recipe where you’re not cooking them all the way and it’s just 30 seconds it’s fine but just want to warn others to think it through if you’re gonna use it for regular waffle making.
Ah, while I’m not surprised it’s not top quality (we get what we pay for etc.) mine cooks pretty fast. If minne stopped working in a couple months, I’d definitely try to get my money back on principle.
I have a few different versions of these tiny waffle makers (heart shaped, pumpkin shaped, and one with gingerbread man on it) and each one cooks differently. I often use all three for one batch of batter (my kids don’t seem to mind having off season icons on their waffles) and each one has slightly different cooking times. I imagine the QA on these aren’t that great. I still like them but it is a caveat to take note.
::clicks right over to buy waffle iron, especially with TINY WAFFLES all over it:: My 7 and 4 year olds ADORE freezer waffles so this is PERFECT. Thank you as always for living inside my brain!
Deb – you had me chuckling “the treachery”!! My granddaughters prefer those too! I will make these for them. You are brilliant!!
Hmm, how times have changed! I clicked on your waffle iron choice, cute, only to find that the $13 price you paid has gone up to $69. Wow!
It’s still showing $13 for me, and looks like Target has it for $9.99.
I think what you are seeing is that Target tries to sell you 3 or 4 other items when you are looking at the mini waffle maker and that makes the total price $69+ The old “others are buying this, too” idea. The waffle iron itself is $9.99, Although very cute, I think I could use my regular waffle iron that puts out 4 squares and break them into quarters to freeze. That way, they would fit nicely in the toaster.
Thanks, Deb for the great idea!
Also possible that you clicked the link to Deb’s “favorite waffle iron of all time,” which is not the mini and is closer to $69.
Curious if you can make the batter and just use it over a few days (rather than making all the waffles all at once)?
I haven’t tried this but it might work.
I’ve done this and the batter seems to be fine after being in the fridge overnight. My sister was a breakfast cook and she used to “refresh” her batter with a little extra baking powder, so try that if you are worried.
If you think that tiny waffle-maker is adorable and fun, try the Dash mini-pie maker. It turns a handful of berries and a really nasty bit of “Danish Dessert” (or other fruitless filling) into a pie. It’s ridiculous amounts of fun.
Looking forward to trying my heart-shaped waffle-maker with your recipe. Already tried the yeasted ones! (Huge hit when I threw a “whatever fits in a waffler” themed party.)
I’ve had the same tiny waffle maker for several years and I really love it. I was surprised another reader said hers took forever to cook. Mine gets very hot and cooks fast!.Excited to make these waffles now. I’ve done my own version, but interested to see what happens with your tweaks. Thanks, Deb.
Deb, I make Fannie Farmer’s yeast waffles and freeze the leftovers — I let them cool, then pop them into Ziploc bags. I set my toaster oven at 325 and they come out just as crisp & tender as the morning I made them fresh. Honest!
Oh yes. Reminds me of the time I was carefully composing spaghetti sauce and my young daughter formed me that she preferred the spaghetti sauce our next-door neighbor made. When I asked my neighbor for her recipe, she said, “Chef Boyardee.” Of course many years later my daughter is a gourmet and cook of the first order.
I have the Dash mini waffle maker you used and was determined not to overbake them in the iron. I froze and toasted this morning, but almost all of them were still batter in the center. :( I’m so sad! The ones that were actually cooked through were amazing, so I’m going to try again. I think they’ll need at least a full minute in the mini iron.
They often need to be toasted longer than regular Eggos. I often toast 1.5 or 2x the usual.
Most disappointed to discover that the DASH iron discussed here is not suitable for use in the UK (*cries*) – does anyone have a recommendation for something nearly as cute that works with our power supply?
Hi there Hazel: Is it possible to get an adapter for the unit?
Could I do oil instead of butter?
Yes
I would happily make so many things from scratch for my kids but they usually prefer the store bought version so I totally get trying to figure out the perfect freezer waffles!
Hi Deb, do you think the same concept could be applied to pancakes? I love your tall fluffy buttermilk pancakes but they also tend to dry out in the toaster when I have leftovers. Should I try undercooking them for the reheat?
For my frozen pancakes, I always microwave them first and then pop them in the toaster just to crisp the edges. Maybe that will work for you!
5 years ago I bought the same tiny waffle iron and proceeded to cease buying frozen waffles and now just stock my freezer with my own creations. I get to pick all the flavors — speculaas! huckleberry! — and add the protein powder of my choice. Way cheaper than buying boxes of the frozen “power” waffles at the store.
Power waffles! Brilliant!!
I feel I’ve been part of this waffle journey along with Deb since she first posted about the tiny waffle maker! My son and I saw the tiny waffle maker at the store and had to buy it. We got it home and I followed a copycat eggo recipe that was not tasty and I told my husband, I cannot wait until the Smitten Kitchen blog lady puts her masterful spin on this recipe. Today was that day to follow her recipe and it does not disappoint. This recipe is what Eggos and other waffles wish they could be when they grow up. Thank you for this waffle recipe! I used half buttermilk and half whole milk for the milk in the recipe. Well done recipe!
This is just a great waffle recipe. A tiny waffle iron caught my eye at Target yesterday, so I brought it home and made a batch this morning. Most of them went right into the freezer, but I cooked the last one until it was golden. It was perfect: tender on the inside and crisp but not too crisp on the outside.
‚These are the best waffles you’ve made!’ Said my husband 😊 So Thank you for this recipe 😊 my 4 year old ate 4 of these! 😊
Thank you!
Thank you Deb! As a fellow mom who also wonders whyyyyyy re: the Eggo fascination, this is much appreciated. Gave it a go this weekend and the kids raved!
These are so good!! Just made them using my dash waffle iron. They are very fluffy and filling with the amount of eggs. Great quick breakfast for my littles on busy mornings.
I would love to find a waffle maker that doesn’t have teflon. If anyone has discovered one…
Deb, these sound amazing! I am also a yeasted waffle lover but nothing compares to the convenience of a frozen waffle. What a great story too, I love how your family contributes to your recipe repertoire. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and passion, I love popping in to see what you’ve been up to and you never disappoint. I’m also really enjoying your most recent book & have made the turkey meat loaf twice now. It is divine. Love from Austin, TX <3< p="">
Do you know how to turn this recipe into a high protein version? I’m working so hard on my weight and would love a high protein mini waffle every once in a while!
I made these last night and just FYI, if you only have vanilla Icelandic yogurt on hand, it will work just fine! Delicious for breakfast this morning.
I’ve been making your yeasted overnight waffles for years now. I absolutely love them!! I can’t really imagine that there could be any waffle that is better than them. But I may try these ones – just to make sure that I’m not missing out.
I’ve also made the yeasted overnight ones with buckwheat flour and they were great – perhaps more suited to savory purposes than sweet. I also made them with buckwheat, goat’s milk and goat’s butter. They were also great. I made that batch for a friend who doesn’t get on with gluten or cow dairy.
I love my waffle iron, but it’s a “standard” kind, not the “Belgain” kind with the big holes. Will it still work?
Yes, this is created with thinner waffle irons, like shown, in mind.
I am OBSESSED with my mini waffle makers (yes plural, I have many)
Can’t wait to try these!
Ahhh, waffles. I’m going to try this, BUT I have an oversupply of Greek yogurt at the moment. Any chance I can change the balance of yogurt:milk and get away with it?
Thanks!
Yes, there’s a note at the end of the recipe about making the swap. Just thin it a little.
Sorry,Deb. I should have read more carefully. Thank you for that; I’m getting out my waffle maker.
My little waffle maker arrived today, and I made these immediately. I feared it would be too futzy, a big reason I seldom make waffles, but the process was very simple. They’re in the freezer now, and I’m excited to try them out!
Oh, and I subbed sour cream, and thinned the tiniest bit, and the texture is fine, in case anyone finds themselves yogurt-less.
Your favorite waffle maker is our favorite one too. Turns out great waffles every time.
Hi! Love making waffles too .My only concern is the all purpose flour ,can I substitute wheat flour in your recipe ? Thanx!
I didn’t test it with whole wheat flour but I’m sure a partial swap would be good. I wouldn’t do a full swap without trying a partial swap first and making sure you like the way the texture is going.
Otherwise, all-purpose flour is all-wheat! :-) Not whole, but all.
Well, these are great. I have the same Dash mini waffle maker, and cooked them for a minute each. They were too wet after 30 seconds, and just fell apart when I tried to pull them out. I added an extra tablespoon of sugar and a big shake of cinnamon, since my kid eats them plain. The texture is perfect, like a real waffle. This is a massive improvement over an Eggo, and fun to make as well. Love it!
How can I adapt this to a regular size Belgium waffle maker? I just got a Hamilton Beach one with removable plates.
It should work just fine in one, just needs more cooking time to be mostly but not fully cooked.
First time waffle maker here. I tried the recipe using the mini waffle maker. I had two issues (not with the recipe, with my cooking method I think)
1) The batter kept seeping out and over the edge at the front near the handle — I put in approx a 1/4 cup of batter
2) No matter how I poured the batter in, the waffles were always thicker at the front near the handle, thinner at the back
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
It might just be the waffle iron — maybe you got one that didn’t come together well? Might be worth exchanging if it seems like it should work better.
These were amazing! So much better than Eggos
I made these today and they are so delicious! They were easy to make and turned out perfectly. You never disappoint with your recipes!
This recipe is a Keeper (even if it isn’t in the book)! My kids (12, 8, 5) love having waffles to toast in the morning and this is a healthy recipe for a school morning. The waffle competition isn’t Eggos, it’s the Smitten Kitchen waffles my husband makes — my kids prefer these which annoys my husband and delights me. :)
This is a VERY forgiving recipe built for real life. Here are the subs I’ve made that so far haven’t led to disaster:
– Butter: Up to half coconut oil melted along with butter.
– Flour: Use up to half wheat flour. Instead of AP, used some old self-rising flour and adjusted baking powder and salt accordingly. Also used a random mix of wheat, self-rising and AP. Next time I’m using a mystery jar of flour that I’ve been scared to use in any other recipe. (Always label your flours!)
– Dairy: It’s about the right amount of liquid and fat I think. So 3 different types of yogurt; half & half; buttermilk; 1% milk haven’t caused disaster. I didn’t have nearly enough yogurt one time so I used a combo of liquid dairies and then whisked in some protein powder to thicken and add back protein missing from the yogurt.
– General unfocused baking/cooking: I have added ingredients at different times, I have added too much and too little baking powder, I have undermixed and overmixed.
Thanks for that, Jodee. I have way, way too much sour cream from our delivery service and am going to water it down a bit and give it a go.
How much batter do you recommend using? I am making these right now and it seems like I’m using way too much. Thank you!
It took less than 2 weeks of me seeing this recipe to buy a probably very-superfluous, almost-certainly-underused kitchen gadget that I almost certainly don’t, well, need, but definitely want. (All of the people who live in my house prefer pancakes to waffles, but I love waffles. I can be the only one who enjoys a freezer stash, right?!?!)
Also, it makes me sad that you’ll never make croissants, Deb, because now I’ll probably have to tackle them on my own and I’ll miss your erudite guidance on all things involving finicky pastry dough and copious amounts of butter.
Aw. Okay, here’s what I learned when I’ve made them: You can do everything perfectly in the recipe but the final rise is really everything. They need to get very puffy and jiggly in a warm/moist environment and I found covering them with plastic very difficult because it drapes into them and sticks and toothpicks are wobbly and I’m sure there’s a better method, but I never got them jiggly so my results were… ok, and mediocre compared to the many different excellent croissants I can buy within a few-block radius of my apartment any day of the week. (I’m spoiled.) I trust Erin McDowell’s croissant recipe implicitly if you’re looking for a place to start!
Deb, have you tried putting a cooling rack over them before covering with plastic? Should give them enough space to rise without getting stuck on the dough. My racks are the stackable kind that have a few inches between each layer so they are tall enough.
Alternatively I’ve had good success with smaller trays just putting the whole tray into a clear plastic storage bin with the lid closed.
Thanks for another terrific and easy recipe Deb. These waffles are delicious!
Can you make the batter the night before and make them in the morning? Do I need to modify the recipe in any way? Add milk to thin the batter in the morning?
I just tried making these easy freezer waffles and they turned out amazing! They’re so light and fluffy – perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. A great way to make a large batch of waffles that can be enjoyed all week long. Thanks for the recipe!
I read this and went down a waffle rabbit hole because I used to go to Go Get ‘Em Tiger in Highland Park (Los Angeles, CA) to get their yeasty waffles. I am a great fan of waffles and I loved these particular ones so much that I stopped ordering any other waffles from any other place. They disappeared from the menu during the recent plague and my life has been waffle free. The yeasted waffles sound like they might be the exact thing I need in my life. I hate my waffle maker because cleaning it is difficult and also ineffective but I decided to settle. I grabbed the stepladder and ransacked the cabinet above the refrigerator to find that waffle maker. I found it but the cabinet was a mess so I decided to organize it. Among other things (when did I get a pressure cooker, why did I think I had time to make my own pasta, what is the expiration date on this club soda), I found a second waffle maker. It is neither Cuisinart or Hamilton Beach. It is Black & Decker. And yes, the removable griddle plates are in the dishwasher as I type.
Ive made these twice BUT we’ve never made it to the par-cook/freeze stage. We just cook them 3-3.5 minutes and eat day of. They are so delicious!
Delicious. So far we only have eaten them fresh off the waffle iron (cooked for about five minutes) and they made me so happy. Looking forward to trying the parcooked ones we now have in the freezer.
I didn’t have yogurt so I made these with sour cream and an extra 1 tsp of sugar. Also didn’t have vanilla so I just left it out. They were still delicious!
These are so good! Fluffy and wonderful. Just what I was looking for.
I am a huge SK fan and have been making recipes from the website and all the cookbooks for years. I and my spouse were not a fan of this recipe. They tasted very similar to eggos, but I have another waffle recipe that we both prefer. This one wasn’t necessarily bad, just not our favorite. Put them in the freezer, so we’ll eat them in the future, but we won’t be making this one again.
I have a chocolate chip waffle lover in my household. Any hints about adding chocolate chips and reheating them? I am a little worried that if she sticks them in the toaster with chocolate chips it’s going to be a disaster. We don’t have a toaster oven, just have regular toaster…
I love the Overnight Yeasted Waffle recipe (it is my go-to for special occasions) but I will definitely be trying this recipe. There’s something about an Eggo that just hits perfectly.
Ohhh, I’ll have to try yogurt! never have – I bet they’re delicious! And who can resist that baby waffle maker…definitely on the want list!
I’ve been experimenting with freezer friendly waffles for a while now. That is no longer necessary, these are great!
I have never thought to make waffles that you could freeze for later! Thanks for this!
Thanks for your ripes! I think it so easy
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