a whisk and a spoon

Apple Waffles

I am finally starting to see a few leafy green things (look out ramps and asparagus!) at the Greenmarket, but where the heck are the fruity things?  Yeah, rhubarb, you may technically be veg, but I’m talking about you.  It’s still nothing but the same sad apples I’ve been seeing for the past six months…which of course I bought last week.  And because they tasted like apples from six months ago, they sat in the fridge for another week, until a feeling of guilt swept over me and I had to think of ways to use them up.

R’s mum gave us a waffle iron for Christmas.  A great present (it makes two at a  time!), but I’ve no place to put it in our little kitchen, so it lives in its box in the back of the coat closet.  Most of the time it’s out of sight, out of mind, but once in a while I like to pry the iron from its styrofoam protectors and switch-up the pancake routine.  Why the heck not make apple waffles?

I didn’t have it so together that morning that I was able to make waffles and saute apples to go on top…instead I simply poured a little cider and a little maple syrup into a sauce pan, and let it reduce for a couple of minutes.  Voila…cider-maple syrup atop a golden spiced apple waffle.  Perfect for spring– hehe.

Apple Waffles– makes about six 6.5″ round waffles
from a recipe in Waffles: From Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan

Steph’s note: The recipe halves wonderfully if you don’t need six.  You can also individually freeze any extra waffles for later breakfasts.

3 T unsalted butter
1 ½ c all-purpose flour
2 t double-acting baking powder
1 t cinnamon
¼ t allspice
pinch of nutmeg
¼ c sugar
¼ c firmly packed light brown sugar
1 ½ c milk
2 large eggs
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 medium-sized apple, peeled and grated
maple syrup, or applesauce, and butter, for serving

-Preheat waffle iron. If you want to hold the waffles until serving time, preheat your oven to 200°F.

-Melt the butter; reserve. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices and sugars (make sure the brown sugar is free of lumps). In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, whisking until they are just combined. Fold in the grated apple and melted butter.

-Lightly butter or spray the grids of your iron, if needed. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsequent waffles stick.

-Spoon out ½ cup of batter, (or amount recommended by your waffler’s manufacturer) onto the hot iron. Spread it over the grids with a metal spatula or wooden spoon. Close the lid and bake until browned and crisp.  They are soft, so you may have to gently peel them off the iron with a fork and spatula.

-Serve immediately with suggested toppings, or keep the finished waffles, in a single layer, on a rack in the preheated oven while you make the rest of the batch.