Pumpkin Brownie Waffles

My son celebrated his 10th birthday last week and our celebrations include allowing the birthday child to choose a fun birthday breakfast. A friend had told me about a recipe she saw for Brownie Waffles and since my son looovveeesss brownies, I figured they would be the perfect way to start his birthday. I searched for a recipe and saw quite a few that were simply made from a brownie mix, but I wanted a recipe that was a little bit more breakfast and less dessert. I also wanted it to be from scratch.

I made these Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes (per my son's request) for him to share as the special friday snack at school, so I didn't really want to serve him a completely sugar-filled crazy breakfast. I saw a recipe for Banana Brownie Waffles and decided to swap pumpkin puree for the mashed banana since my son doesn't really care for the taste of bananas in baked goods. I also added some mini chocolate chips to the batter.

I didn't really think about the fact that bananas are much sweeter than pumpkin puree, so these waffles were not very sweet by themselves, but very chocolate-y. I guess you could add a little bit more sugar to the batter if you wanted to. The kids enjoyed these topped with syrup, strawberries and whipped cream. I spread a little bit of peanut butter on one and topped it with sliced strawberries. It was a delicious splurge of a breakfast and we had a very happy birthday boy.

Pumpkin Brownie Waffles adapted from these Banana Brownie Waffles
1 1/2 cups white wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifter
1/4 cup wheat germ
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups lowfat buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
(I did this the night before, covered it and put it in the fridge.)
3. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, pumpkin puree, eggs, canola oil and vanilla extract until well blended. Gently stir in mini chocolate chips.
Pour over the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
4. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray. Pour batter in the center of waffle iron and cook until done. Repeat with remaining batter and serve with syrup, whipped cream, strawberries or peanut butter.

Here is the original recipe for Pumpkin Brownie Waffles