Pumpkin pie waffles

A delicious breakfast or brunch option!

Made with all the same delicious ingredients as pumpkin pie (including the infamous ‘pumpkin spice’), these waffles are big on flavour yet very easy to prepare. For extra deliciousness you can cook the butter in a small saucepan until browned then let cool slightly before adding to the waffle batter as directed below. I typically make the batter the night before (and refrigerate) or first thing in the morning then cook waffles ‘on demand’ over the next few hours as my family gets up. Leftover waffles can be frozen, if desired. If your family loves waffles they might also enjoy my whole wheat gingerbread waffles, my cornbread waffles or my ham and cheese waffles.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (112 g) unseasoned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) melted butter
• 3/4 cups (180 mL) light cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
• 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Suggested toppings: chopped toasted pecans, butter, maple syrup (powdered sugar and whipped cream are also delicious)

Method

• In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and then stir in pumpkin puree, melted butter, cream and vanilla, mixing just until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and spices. Add to liquids and stir until just mixed (it’s ok if batter has a few lumps – you don’t want to overmix).
• Let batter rest while waffle iron preheats then lightly brush the waffle plates with a neutral oil such as canola (or use cooking spray). Preheat oven to 250F if you want to keep the first batch of waffles warm while you cook the remaining batter.
• Once waffle iron is hot, lightly grease the plates – I brush on a little canola oil; you can also use non-stick cooking spray.
• Pour batter onto the hot waffle iron (in my case, I used a heaping 1/4 cup batter for each waffle). Cook per your waffle iron’s instructions until deeply browned and crisp on the surface – I find they take 1-2 minutes longer than regular waffles because of the extra moisture of the pumpkin puree.
• If transferring first batch of waffles to oven to keep warm, place them on a wire rack placed over a baking tray before putting in the preheated oven.
• Serve waffles hot with your favourite toppings.

Makes 10-12 small waffles.