Lets try this again...... with Pumpkin Waffles!

Well......it has been a while since I've posted on here.  I figure now is a good time to try to revive this blog, but only time will tell!  With everything going on right now, it seemed like a good opportunity to get creative to use up pantry ingredients and try some more challenging recipes that I've been wanting to try out for a long time.

I don't know how often I will be posting but I think this will help bring me some enjoyment with all of the craziness going on in the world.  Plus, it seems like I make recipes and love them but then I can't seem to remember which ones they were or what changes I have made.  Let's face it, I always make changes to recipes and my memory isn't what it used to be.

I don't generally eat breakfast but waffles make the perfect brunch food!  I always seem to have canned pumpkin on hand so this made for the perfect pantry recipe.  These were pretty simple to put together, the most time consuming part of this recipe is waiting for the waffles to cook.  It always seems like things take long to cook when you are hungry so I would recommend starting at least 30 minutes before you want to eat.  

When I was looking for waffle recipes, I didn't really find one that had everything I wanted in it so I took bits and pieces from various recipes and made some changes.  One recipe had corn starch which seemed a little strange to me but when I did a little bit of research it turns out corn starch makes for crispier waffles.  I don't know about you, but I like my waffles to be crispy!  For my recipe I ended out subbing some corn starch for flour but you could use all flour if you don't have corn starch, did I mention this is supposed to be a pantry recipe?  Use what you have and substitute when needed, that's my motto right now.

If you have leftover waffles, these freeze well and you can reheat them in the toaster for an easy breakfast.  Sometimes I will double recipes so that I can make sure I have extras to freeze.  I like having extra easy meals on had for days that I don't feel like cooking or have limited time.

Pumpkin Waffles

Yields 8 Waffles

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch (you can omit and just use extra flour)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 large egss, separated
1 1/2 cups milk (I used unsweetened vanilla milkadamia but any regular or alternative milk should work)
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (NOT canned pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and preheat your waffle iron.  Sift together flour, corn starch, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth.  Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks.  Fold them gently into the waffle batter, just until combined.  Do not over mix as you do not want to deflate your egg whites.

Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray or brush with oil.  Spoon your batter into the waffle iron and spread slightly.*  Cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Transfer the waffles to a rack in the over to keep warm and crispy.  Make more waffles until you use up all of the batter.

*I used a measuring cup and ended up using about 3/4 cup of batter for each waffle.  This may vary depending on your waffle iron.  My waffles were about 6 1/2 inches.  I also flipped my waffles and cooked them longer in the waffle iron as I wanted crispier waffles.

Enjoy!