Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

Recipe:  These would be great for Thanksgiving morning!  Holy cow – these are spiced!  I loved them.  If you like pumpkin and gingerbread men, you will LOVE these waffles.  I have made them a few times trying several variations.  Applesauce turned them to mush.  Using less ground ginger made them a little bland.  Using white whole wheat didn’t change the recipe much, but it made them healthier.
This recipe uses more pumpkin than my whole wheat pumpkin pancakes which I love to make ALL the time.  The kids loved them too and if you are on the go, then cut the waffle into sticks instead of bites and they can eat them in the car.

Note:  I love to substitute applesauce for butter or oil as much as the next person.  However, it did not do well here.  Either it was my waffle maker or me… but using applesauce made waffle pancake mush in my waffle maker.  However when I used butter, the waffles came out just fine.

TO FREEZE:  Simply freeze frozen waffles in a ziplock bag.  Some people like to put them directly into the toaster frozen.  Some people like me like to put them in the microwave for about 15–20 seconds and then toast them.  Either way – they taste just as good or even better because they are extra crispy!

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles
serves 6-8

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour (or white whole wheat)
1 tablespoon baking powder (yes, I said tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg (a little less if using freshly grated)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (for less bite use scant teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (like from a can)
1 and 2/3 cup milk

1.  Melt the butter in a small bowl first.  I forget to do this part ahead of time, so I put it first in the directions.  🙂
2.  In a great big bowl, mix the dry stuff:  flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.
3.  In a not so great big bowl, mix the wet stuff:  eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, milk and melted butter.
4.  Add wet to dry.
5.  Pour in batter and use waffle maker per the manufacturer’s instructions.
6.  Top with maple syrup, butter, honey butter, pecans, etc.

Recipe adapted from Food.com