Simple puff pastry stuffed waffles

A mostly make-ahead breakfast treat!

My family loves waffles smothered in maple syrup and fresh fruit, but sometimes I can’t resist the urge to switch things up a little. These Nutella and cream cheese stuffed waffles are deceptively simple to make and I love how the cheesecake-like filling is like a secret surprise in the middle. Not a Nutella fan? You can combine fresh or frozen fruit (or even your favourite jam) with cream cheese instead! You can prepare the waffle ‘packets’ the night before and cook them up fresh the next day – they’re ideal if you have a household full of people who like to wake up and/or eat at staggered times throughout the morning.

Ingredients

• 2 sheets puff pastry
• 3/4 cup (185 mL) cream cheese
• 3/4 cup (185 mL) Nutella or other chocolate spread
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

• The night before, transfer the puff pastry from the freezer to the fridge. You want it thawed but still cold when you assemble the waffles in the morning.
• Measure waffle iron and roll out puff pastry between two sheets of parchment paper. My waffle iron compartments measure 3.25 inches by 4 inches so I rolled out each sheet to be about 13.5 x 8.5 inches; that way I could cut four strips of dough each 3.25 inches x 8 inches, doubling over each strip to become 3.25 x 4 or the size of each of the four compartments. If your waffle iron is round, you’ll need to cut two circles the size of the waffle maker.)
• Trim the edges of the puff pastry sheet to even them up, then cut your strips.
• Put a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese followed by a heaping tablespoon of Nutella on one end of each rectangle, leaving a half-inch border around the fillings so you can seal the pastry.

• Using your fingertip, brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg then fold over to seal. Press down lightly on the edges with your fingertips, then crimp them together with the tines of a fork.

• Gently transfer the prepared pastries to the waffle maker. Close the lid and cook for 5 – 6 minutes, until golden and crispy on the outside.
• Transfer to serving plates and dust with icing sugar.

Makes 8 waffles.