Pumpkin Waffles - Gluten Free

I haven't told you about something.

I really should have shared this a lot earlier.

You know the waffle story a couple weeks back?

Turns out, HE was right.

Yeah, I know.....

Egg white waffles are far superior to anything else I have tasted. I have yet to try yeasted waffles, which seems like my perfect waffle, until then, I will stick to the egg white method of making waffles. Further more, I will adhere to this pumpkin waffle recipe until tulips are pushing up through the frozen ground next Spring.

Pumpkin because I love any vegetable that is orange. Give me something that is orange and I will eat or drink it. Well, anything but government cheese. I draw the line folks. I have a love hate with Cheetos. Love 'em but hate everything about them. Doritos? Don't even set a bag near me they will be gone. The orange that I do want to devour with reckless abandon include pumpkin, yam, every form of winter squash, anything candied with orange. That is the orange I am talking about - the real orange. Mother Nature's GOLD.

I put pumpkin in waffles and melted my own heart. Three weekends in a row. This recipe is large, large for a family of two. I try my hardest, I powered through 3 waffles in one morning but I do not recommend it and the stomach ache accompanied by complete and utter lack of motivation brought on by a full belly.

Unless..... you are with someone with the same intent.

And if you must know......

If we are going to eat ourselves into a waffle pile of worthlessness:

I do not like anything on my waffles. I use a fork to cut manageable pieces off so I can eat them with my hands. I dunk waffles if the mood strikes. I eat waffles like toast.

Pumpkin Waffles
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I used Bob Red Mills GF AP Flour and J didn't even notice )
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted


Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp.

Make more waffles in same manner.

Freeze excess waffles wrapped in plastic wrap and pop in the toaster to reheat.

Waffles

Long before I had a ring(s) on my left hand, my house not yet filled with a sweet red bearded man every morning, before there was talk of children, retirement, and house hunting. In a time where sleep was an afterthought and there was a permanent sparkle in my eye. I am pretty sure that neither of us had Internet at the time or digital cameras. Before I even considered mountain biking.....

We listened to a lot of music and spent the mornings together. There was one morning that still flutters in and out of my memories. We had waffles one morning, unforgettable waffles. I remember it like yesterday, they were the best waffles I have ever had. Every thing tastes better when one is fresh into a relationship. I remember pulling a chair up to his kitchen table years ago, in his house that was tucked up on a hill side in one of Bellingham's more wooded neighborhoods. It was a cozy day.  There was a forest outside his back door, Natasha was probably there at our feet but I don't remember right now, I just remember those waffles. I devoured mine, plain, not dry just unaccompanied. Crispy exterior and soft inside. There was butter, he told me the secret lots of butter, not making these often, it was a splurge. We probably went for a hike that day or went climbing at Mount Erie. I just remember the waffle.

This morning I woke up and wanted waffles. I find a recipe and tip toe into our kitchen and whip up a batch using all whole wheat flour and a third of the butter that I remember J telling me he used in those infamous hook line and sinker waffles years ago. Soon J peers over my shoulder and asks if I was going to use egg whites. I was not. He asks, how can you have fluffy waffles without egg whites? You cannot.

The waffles I made this morning were tasty. They were crisp on the outside, tender where they should be. Hearty but scented with sweet vanilla.

 Waffles

Collapse This recipe (originally from Aretha Frankenstein's restaurant in Chattanooga, TN) is the ideal I-just-woke-up-from-a...

Serves 2 good waffle eaters

3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
1/4 cup cornstarch 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or a combination) 
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 egg 
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Ask the
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1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
   
   Ask the hotline about this step!
2. Heat a waffle iron. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and pure maple syrup or hold in a 200 degree oven, directly on the rack (don't stack them or they'll get soggy). These also reheat very well in the toaster.