Gingerbread Waffles

I guess I’ve been on a bit of a gingerbread breakfast kick lately, starting with the gingerbread crepes, then the gingerbread oatmeal, and now these gingerbread waffles. But I can’t think of a better way to start your day this time of year than filling your kitchen with the warm, spicy scent of gingerbread (and filling your belly with it too!)

I usually never think to make waffles for breakfast because it seems like such a hassle, but provided you have a waffle maker, they’re actually no more difficult than pancakes, and they cook pretty quickly too. These waffles did have quite a few ingredients, but I still had no problem making them on a busy morning, and was happy that they only dirtied a couple bowls. The waffle maker that overflowed on the second batch is another story, but I left that for someone else to clean up :)

These waffles smelled amazing and tasted great too. I increased a couple of the spices a little and still found them to be pretty mild, which would make them great for kids, but if you like stronger gingerbread spices you might want to increase the amounts even more. Next time I think I'll add a little cocoa powder too, because I think a hint of chocolate really brings out gingerbread flavour even more.

These looked very pretty served with a light dusting of icing sugar (as in the picture above), but since waffle holes are meant for filling, feel free to serve them with maple syrup or your favourite sauce. I had some cool whip in the fridge (leftover from the white chocolate candy cane cheesecake I’m still dreaming about) so I mixed some eggnog into it to make a pourable eggnog sauce that was absolutely delicious with the waffles. But if you have more time, you could also try making eggnog whipped cream, or cinnamon syrup.

Hope everyone’s last minute shopping is going well – I finally finished all my Christmas shopping today and it feels fantastic!

Gingerbread Waffles

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 10 waffles

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 large eggs

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup molasses

Icing sugar, maple syrup, or eggnog + cool whip for serving, if desired

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves).

Mix the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl (eggs, melted butter, milk, sour cream, molasses).

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated (do not overmix).

Heat a waffle iron and cook batter according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve warm, topped with icing sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, or other desired topping.

Note: To make the sauce pictured, I just scooped some cool whip into a bowl and poured a few tablespoons of eggnog in, then stirred until it formed a smooth sauce. I didn't measure anything, so just go with whatever amounts look and taste good to you!