Gingerbread waffles recipe

Our grandson loves chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, but I've never been one to go sweet early in the morning. I'd rather have these gingerbread waffles for dessert, but my husband Ted loved them as an afternoon snack, with butter and maple syrup. In other words, don't let me tell you when to eat waffles. Almost every ingredient in these waffles comes right from the pantry. I swapped white whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour in the original recipe, and upped the amount of powdered ginger because I love it. Though somewhat more dense thanks to the whole grain flour, these waffles still have the cake-like quality of gingerbread and, topped with ginger ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt, would make a great dessert for kids or grown-ups. If you're having a party, cook a batch of waffles ahead, and refrigerate or freeze them; then, to serve, simply pop them in the toaster. One waffle per person will be perfect at the end of the meal. Our grandson might just manage two for breakfast.

Gingerbread waffles

From the pantry, you'll need: all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, powdered ginger, ground nutmeg, canned pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, molasses, butter, cooking spray.

Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe on Foodnetwork.com, this recipe makes 10 substantial waffles (1-2 per person).

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2-1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 large eggs
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1-1/4 cups skim milk
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Cooking spray
Butter and maple syrup, for serving

Directions

Heat your waffle maker to 400°F (or high heat if on the stovetop).

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt, and stir.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then add in the pumpkin, milk, molasses and butter. With a rubber spatula, stir the wet into the dry until just moist. Don't overstir, but make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Spray the waffle maker with cooking spray. Ladle on enough of the batter to cover the surface, and close the waffle maker. Cook for 5 minutes or more, depending on the type of waffle maker you're using, until lightly browned on both sides.

Serve warm, with butter and maple syrup.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Rosemary-parmesan sweet potato waffles
Cranberry, orange and walnut buttermilk ricotta waffles
Lemon waffles
Zucchini waffles
Chocolate chocolate chip waffles

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Overnight buttermilk waffles, from Baking Bites
Honey cinnamon whole wheat waffles, from Andrea Meyers
Banana walnut waffles, from Joy the Baker
Blueberry quinoa waffles, from Cheeky Kitchen
Buttermilk Belgian waffles, from Sugarcrafter

Gingerbread waffles

From the pantry, you'll need: all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, powdered ginger, ground nutmeg, canned pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, molasses, butter, cooking spray.

Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe on Foodnetwork.com, this recipe makes 10 substantial waffles (1-2 per person).

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2-1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 large eggs
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1-1/4 cups skim milk
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Cooking spray
Butter and maple syrup, for serving

Directions

Heat your waffle maker to 400°F (or high heat if on the stovetop).

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt, and stir.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then add in the pumpkin, milk, molasses and butter. With a rubber spatula, stir the wet into the dry until just moist. Don't overstir, but make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Spray the waffle maker with cooking spray. Ladle on enough of the batter to cover the surface, and close the waffle maker. Cook for 5 minutes or more, depending on the type of waffle maker you're using, until lightly browned on both sides.

Serve warm, with butter and maple syrup.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Rosemary-parmesan sweet potato waffles
Cranberry, orange and walnut buttermilk ricotta waffles
Lemon waffles
Zucchini waffles
Chocolate chocolate chip waffles

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Overnight buttermilk waffles, from Baking Bites
Honey cinnamon whole wheat waffles, from Andrea Meyers
Banana walnut waffles, from Joy the Baker
Blueberry quinoa waffles, from Cheeky Kitchen
Buttermilk Belgian waffles, from Sugarcrafter

Comments

Yum. How did you manage to get that perfect drop of syrup coming off the front corner of the waffle?

I'll take them for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and late night snack! I have to try substituting the white whole wheat.

Jean, a lucky catch -- though I wish I could say that I made the shot on purpose.

TW, that's pretty much what Ted said, too!

I was planning on making gingerbread waffles today anyway. When I saw your recipe this morning, I changed to it because of the pumpkin and white whole wheat flour. They were full-bodied and delicious. I served them with a slathering of butter and a natural, no-sugar added applesauce as a topping. My men, aged 14 and 66, tore through them lickety-split. This may become our most requested weekend brunch item!

This just reminds me again - I so badly need to buy a waffle maker! Absolute love.

Lora, thanks so much for your feedback, and I'm delighted your men loved these waffles (mine did, too). Applesauce sounds like a wonderful topping.

Kulsum, we bought a panini press and an extra set of waffle plates that fit it. I love having a piece of equipment that can do many things; I also use it to grill chicken. But the waffles are the most fun.

I tried something similar over the holidays and they are a hit!!!!!

I'll have to make these instead of my old
stand-by buttermilk waffles!! Yum!!

The tip about freezing them is the best - I am not sure why folks even buy those prepacked things when it is so easy to whip up a delicious batch and freeze them! I often do this with pancakes too -just let them cool totally first and wrap them good!

Bellini, I can't think of a more perfect holiday breakfast or dessert than gingerbread.

Angela, with the whole grain flour, these are definitely not as light as buttermilk waffles, so for me one was just enough.

Carol, isn't that a neat trick about reheating them in the toaster? By the time I get the waffle maker out, I want to make a few batches and freeze them. It is so easy.

Love the photo with the drop of syrup! You're making me wish I had a waffle iron.

YES YES YES YES YES! That is all.

These are very similar to the waffles we make each weekend, though I haven't added molasses to ours. I will have to try that for an added layer of flavor. We typically make a triple batch and freeze the extras for easy weekday breakfasts.

I agree-waffles are good for any meal! I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These look delicious and unique.

Yummy, yummy, yummy! I'm just now getting to the point where I'm realizing I need to have a bit of a treat like this once in a while or I'm going to completely fail on my new routine. I know we'd love these wholesome waffles. Freezing is such a great idea!

Jeanette, I love my panini press with the waffle plates. It's opened up all sorts of new worlds for us.

EB, Oh, yes.

Cookin' Canuck, the molasses really gave these a gingerbread taste that my husband just loved.

Zesty Cook, to me, these are dessert. With a big plop of vanilla frozen yogurt on top.

Kellypea, every now and then we have to ease up on ourselves, especially when "dieting". For me, what works is giving myself permission to have a treat every now and then. And, once I have permission, I tend not to crave the treats any more.

Oh man, I wish I had a waffle-maker! These look fantastic.

Oh, they look so delicious, makes me want to go out and get a waffle maker!

Nicole, Paula: Unless you make a lot of waffles, I can't advocate a single-purpose piece of equipment, but I love using my panini press, which has grill, griddle, and waffle plates that I can swap out.

I think the sugar can be left out altogether. The molasses should give these a nice degree of sweetness. And increasing the salt to 1 teaspoon would help bring out the ginger flavor.

I love the flavour of gingerbread, so I'm sure these would be utterly delicious, especially with the addition of the pumpkin purée. I absolutely love your first photo with the drip of maple syrup – stunning!

Laura, I'm not sure about increasing the salt so much -- one teaspoon sounds like a lot to me -- but if you try it, let me know how it comes out.

Mel, a lucky catch, that drip, but it really lets you know how delicious these waffles are! My husband loved them with maple syrup on top. I liked them with frozen yogurt!

What a great way to start your day! Gonna try your recipe tomorrow morning.

This was such a DELICIOUS waffle recipe! i am going to try making it GLUTEN free so my friend can eat it, it's sooo yummy!