Buttermilk Wafffles with Strawberry Topping

 My kids love having breakfast for dinner.  They think it is so much fun.   A few weeks ago I found this recipe for Buttermilk Waffles with a fresh strawberry topping in Shape Magazine and I ripped it out because I really wanted to try it.  It comes from Ellie Krieger, whom I absolutely love, because her recipes are healthy and they always turn out to be very delicious.  Plus, she uses mostly low-fat buttermilk instead of a ton of oil or butter, which is something I do all the time when I make quick breads or muffins.  I also really liked that she only used honey to sweeten the waffles as well as the topping. 

I made the topping a few days in advance when I was cutting up strawberries for something else and I am glad I did because I think it tasted great chilled.   I doubled the recipe for the waffles, so that I could freeze some for a quick breakfast option on school days and I was really glad that I did that too. These were yummy and the sauce was perfect with the waffles.


Buttermilk Waffles with Strawberry Topping

by Ellie Krieger via Shape Magazine

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

2 Tablespoons toasted wheat germ

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberry Topping, recipe follows

confectioners' sugar, optional

 Preheat a waffle iron.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). In another medium bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, honey and vanilla.

 Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. The batter will be somewhat lumpy.

Coat the waffle iron with cooking spray.  Ladle enough batter to cover 3/4's of the surface, close lid, and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown.  Repeat with remaining batter.  Serve topped with strawberry mixture and an optional dusting of powdered sugar.

Strawberry Topping:
16 ounces strawberries, fresh or frozen (unsweetened, thawed)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup

  In a medium saucepan over a low flame, stir together strawberries, lemon juice, maple syrup, and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid has thickened slightly.  Flavor with additional maple syrup if desired.  Remove from heat and set aside.

 

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

Peanut Butter Waffles

I made these waffles almost 2 months ago when my brother and sister were here visiting. I had spotted them before that, but wanted to wait until we had visitors to make them. My sister and brother both love peanut butter, so I knew they would be a welcome breakfast treat.

These waffles were very tasty. The peanut butter flavor was noticeable, but not completely overwhelming. They were really good with bananas and strawberries on top. Now that school is back in session, I can't wait to make a big batch to have for breakfast on a school morning.

Peanut Butter Waffles
from Everyday Food, May 2011

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 cups buttermilk (I used low-fat)
2 large eggs
bananas, maple syrup for serving (optional)

Preheat waffle iron. If you want to make all of the waffles before serving, preheat oven to 275 F, set a wire rack inside of a rimmed baking sheet and pop in the oven.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In your blender combine the melted butter and peanut butter, and blend until smooth. Add the buttermilk and eggs and blend to combine. Pour the wet ingredients from the blender over the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated.

Fill the wells of the waffle iron and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions. You want the waffles golden brown when they're finished. Serve with bananas and maple syrup, if desired. (Transfer the waffles to the wire rack in the oven to keep warm if not serving immediately.)

Recipes from Gale Gand's Brunch

Have you seen this book, Brunch by Gale Gand? Well, it is a really good one, full of delicious pictures and great recipes.

It has been sitting on my book shelf for quite a while and I decided it was time to give some of the recipes a try.

The other day we had Backwards Day at our house. We ate brownies for breakfast, read our bedtime story after that, went to the library in our pajamas, etc. and we finished off the day by eating brunch instead of dinner.
I chose 4 recipes from this book for our menu- Pineapple-Blueberry Smoothie, Roasted Pears & Rhubarb w/ orange, Bacon Waffles, and a variation of the cover recipe- Egg Cups.
I don't like cooking with bacon and usually don't, but my kids love it when they get the chance to have some and I figured this was a fun way to use it.
We spent the afternoon swimming, so when I started making all these recipes, everyone was starving. I was almost out of eggs, so I used egg substitute in the waffles. (not by choice, I couldn't run to the store at that point)
The batter was light and airy, which made delicious waffles.

The smoothie was one of the best I have ever had. I don't know if it was simply because we had been out in the hot sun for hours and I was overly thirsty or just the wonderful combination (I am leaning towards this explanation) but it was great. The frozen pineapple and mint just added a delicious zing to the smoothie. My girls always like having their smoothies in "fancy" cups.

The egg cups were delicious. I didn't really use her recipe, but it was the same idea. I added some spinach to get some sort of vegetable in there.

The roasted fruit was really good. I liked the rhubarb part better because the sweet roasting liquid really went well with the tartness of it. The pears were a little too sweet. I would reduce the sugar in that one next time. The roasted fruit would be a great topping for vanilla ice cream or filling for a crumble/cobbler.

Overall, this was a really fun brunch, even if it was for dinner and we loved it.

Bacon Waffles (* I used 1/2 cup egg white substitute and low fat buttermilk)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup whole milk
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
maple syrup, for serving

Heat a waffle iron.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour and next 3 ingredients.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and next 3 ingredients.
Stir crumbled bacon into the wet ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at once, just until combined.
Don't overmix- it should be lumpy.
Make waffles according to manufacturer's directions; serve with maple syrup.


Egg Cups
I kinda did my own thing here.
I combined 3 eggs, 4 egg whites and 1/3 -1/2 cup skim milk in a bowl, then seasoned it with salt and pepper.
I sprayed a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray and press a ham slice in each of the muffin cups.
I steamed some spinach and placed that at the bottom of the ham cup.
I poured the egg mixture into the ham cups and then added cubes of mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes to the egg mixture.
I baked them at 375 degrees F, until the egg was completely cooked, about 17-20 minutes.

Pineapple-Blueberry Smoothie * I used Apple Passion-Mango juice concentrate and Stonyfield Blueberry Low-fat Yogurt
2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 fresh mint leaves

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Roasted Pears & Rhubarb with Orange (I halved this recipe)
4 medium pears, ripe but firm
4 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and washed
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbls honey
2 Tbls red wine ( I used cranberry juice)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split open
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Quarter and core the pears (do not peel them). Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, combine orange juice and remaining 6 ingredients. Add the pears and rhubarb, and toss to coat.
Pour into a casserole or gratin dish and bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

Gingerbread Waffles with Lemon Syrup and Lemon Whipped Cream

A couple of months ago, I was in a small pizza cooking contest. A couple of days after the contest, I saw a comment on someone's blog and recognized the lovely lady in the picture. I went and checked out her blog, Real Mom Kitchen.
Laura featured these super delicious waffles, which she found on Rookie Cookie .
I really like making special breakfasts. I guess it is fun to get away with eating something sweet and tasty in the morning. I replaced half the butter in the waffles with unsweetened applesauce, and served them with just a touch of the whipped cream, I guess to make them seem a little better for you.
Gingerbread and Lemon- what a tasty combination! Check out the links below or the link to Rookie Cookie, above, for the recipes.

Gingerbread Waffles with Lemon Whipped Cream

Lemon Syrup

Up Next- a Fun Lunch for Kids

Waffles with Quick Mixed Berry Sauce

I made this berry sauce a couple weeks ago with just blueberries and it was delicious. This time I used mixed berries and blueberries and doubled it, because it sits well in the fridge and can be used on anything- pancakes, hot cereal, ice cream, you name it, it would taste good on it. These are pretty healthy waffles and they come together really quickly. You can toast the wheat germ to enhance the flavor. A great way to start the day.
Waffles adapted from Cooking Light
1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups fat-free milk

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flaxseed meal, flours, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, egg substitute, oil, and vanilla; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray; preheat. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter per 4-inch waffle onto the hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter.

Quick Mixed Berry Sauce adapted from The Deseret News

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup frozen mixed berries, take out the strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon salt

In small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch, then set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, water and salt. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice-cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes more.