Autumn weekend mornings are awesome. I’m not sure what makes them different than a summer weekend, but somehow, the desire to rise and spring out the door into activity isn’t nearly as strong. We tend to linger over coffee, put some Palestrina on the hi-fi, and make something good for breakfast. My girls will often settle into a marathon book reading session, or get involved in some complicated dress up game. These whole wheat pumpkin waffles are the perfect thing on a lazy Sunday morning for so many reasons.
First, they are downright delicious. They are full of fall flavors, and hints of baking spices; your whole house will smell fantastic for the rest of the day. Next, as far as waffles go, these are pretty good for you. They have quite a bit of pumpkin, aka a vegetable, in them, and are 100% whole grain. You can’t go wrong. They are not a low fat food, but you could easily trim the butter quite a bit and still have decent results.
This is an adapted recipe from Eating Well for whole wheat pumpkin waffles that I have been making for some time. It has woven its way into my weekend food repertoire and never left. If you want to make it dairy free, substitute canola oil for the butter, and your non-dairy milk of choice for the buttermilk. Be sure to follow the instructions below on turning regular milk into buttermilk.
If you’re making brunch for a crowd and want something savory to offset these waffles, why not try this fantastic tomato and feta shakshuka?
If you don’t have buttermilk…
If you don’t happen to have buttermilk around, there are a couple of ways to make a perfectly good substitute. You can either set regular milk in a measuring cup and add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice or cider vinegar. Let that stand while you get the rest of the recipe together and use it just like the buttermilk. There is enough acid in the lemon juice or vinegar to act on the baking soda and make the whole wheat pumpkin waffles fluffier. Or, put a big dollop of yogurt into a measuring cup, then fill to the two cup mark with regular milk. Mix the yogurt in, and you are all set.
On waffle irons
I have this Krups Belgian waffle iron. It’s pretty good, but it’s always annoyed me that there is no temperature control. Fortunately, they corrected that with their latest version. No matter what, don’t skimp on your waffle maker. If you get a decent one, it will last forever and cook beautifully. Cheaper waffle makers cook unevenly and don’t last long.
Save RecipeINGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 large eggs
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
- 1 14oz can canned solid-pack pumpkin
- 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron (I use Pam or baker’s joy)
METHOD
- Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices.
- Whisk eggs in a large bowl until blended, then whisk in, buttermilk, brown sugar, pumpkin, and butter until smooth.
- Mix in dry ingredients just until smooth.
- Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook for about 4 minutes in a Belgian waffle maker, maybe less in a normal one.
- As you make them, keep the finished waffles warm in a 200 degree oven.
- Put some maple syrup on and dig in.
- Also, these freeze really well. Just let them cool off and put them in ziplock bags for homemade eggos. Heat them up for a few seconds in the microwave and then bake them in the toaster for a couple of minutes.
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