The Nation Has An Appetite

Pumpkin Waffles

52 Comments

As I always say, when all else fails . . . make waffles. Actually, I never say that. But these are tasty enough to make a bad day tolerable and a good day better.

1 7/8 cups (8 oz.) all-purpose flour
2 cups (8 oz.) white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (4 oz.) packed light brown sugar
3 3/8 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 15-oz. can solid-pack pumpkin
9 tablespoons (4.5 oz) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
vegetable oil spray for waffle iron
maple syrup

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs until blended. Then whisk in milk, buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until smooth. (Note: my batter had a few lumps, and this did not seem to be a problem.)

waffle batter

Spray a light coat of vegetable oil onto waffle iron (mine is nonstick, so I did't need much). Using a ladle, pour batter onto waffle iron. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions. I can never manage to fill the waffle iron the right amount to get full-sized waffles without also ending up with batter spilling out the sides, but perhaps you’re more skilled than I am or own a better waffle iron.

fully baked

When waffles are lightly browned, transfer them to a cooling rack positioned over a cookie sheet in the oven. This is an important step; it allows them to become crisp. You want to give them about 5 minutes in the oven, though longer is fine too if you want to make all the waffles first and then serve them.

Continue making the rest of the waffles. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

NOTES: Recipe source here. I basically multiplied the ingredients by 1.5 and ended up with 20 waffles. Check out that link if you want to end up with a less ridiculous quantity. I just freeze what we don’t eat. To reheat frozen waffles, defrost in the microwave and finish in the toaster.

52 thoughts on “Pumpkin Waffles”

    2. Wow - 4X4X4 opportunities to soak up Maple Syrup goodness, and butter. What could be better? OK, Bacon.

  2. I love an excuse to pull out my waffle iron. I'll add this to the list of Sunday breakfasts I should be making.

    Also, another great use for a waffle iron is bacon scallion cheddar grits. If you've got some left over grits (or polenta) from dinner you can grate some chez, fry and crumble some bacon, slice up some scallion, mix that into the mush and drop a pile onto a greased, preheated iron for excellent grit cakes.

    2. Heh, when I saw your comment on the sidebar I just knew that bacon was somehow going to come into play.

  3. Not sure if the waffle iron is still around...can I use an enchilada maker?
    Perhaps standard pancakes would be a better option.

    1. "Enchilada maker"??

      In my day, we filled and rolled tortillas into a baking dish, covered them with enchilada sauce and baked to heat through.

        1. Oh man, el patio. There was one in Menomonie, but it was right next to a kingdom buffet so it was always a tough choice in how we were going to get indigestion.

            1. I figured every area has some version of el such and such, with menus probably printed at the same printing company.

              Buy yeah, I imagine it all caused the same issues when mixed with cheap beer.

              1. We have an El Patio in town and it is awesome. very good carnitas, and they have a salsa bar that includes roasted whole jalepenos bathed in this weird but delicious soy sauce-accented salsa. But we also have about a dozen other excellent taquerias.

      2. Ahem...quesadilla, that is. Upper respiratory virus ravaging our house may be causing some brain fog...

        1. I am not sure a quesadilla maker would do the job (seems like a lot of batter might run out the sides, and the result might be more pancake than waffle), but if you try it, please report back!

          I'm trying to decide what to think about the fact that my waffle recipe has generated more comments about Mexican food than it has about waffles . . .

  4. I love waffles & pancakes.
    My wife loves French toast and prefers pancakes to waffles.
    My kids love whatever we make...which is French toast or pancakes 8/10 times.

    I'd really like to upgrade to a Belgian waffle iron.

    1. Normal flour?!?!?! You consider grain stripped of both its bran and germ to be NORMAL???? Quick, someone get me a table I can throw.

    2. Okay, fine, here's a more rational answer. Yes, you could just use all-purpose flour. The reasons I like white whole wheat are:
      1. It allows me to pretend that whatever I'm eating is entirely healthy.
      2. The whole wheat adds a nice, almost toasted flavor that works really nicely with the pumpkin and spices.

      As far as buttermilk goes, I believe the acid in it interacts with the leavening agents to help the batter rise. If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute clabbered milk, which is made by mixing 1 tablespoon lemon juice per cup of milk. (More info here.)

      1. But this will totally work without buttermilk and pretentious flour, right? Because I have everything else. And a waffle iron that I've almost exclusively used for making quesadillas.

          1. Zee, we don't use real dollars around here. We prefer the currency which presaged the bitcoin era - one WGOM ... though, apparently you're like me, you still don't know how to award one.

                1. Not sure why I was telling myself I didn't know how to do that. There's even a button for it.

        2. Man you people and your waffle-iron quesadillas. I learned from watching Alton Brown to eschew single-use devices and appliances. I have two frying pans, one a bit smaller than the other. I put the small one in the oven and get it very hot and then set that atop the tortillas in the other pan. Viola!: Waffle-iron-free Quesadillas!

            1. Until this post, I'd never even heard of a "quesadilla maker." I just build the things in a frying pan, add a little more cheese and the second tortilla, melt for a moment and flip the whole shebang over.

            2. I can't take credit if it works. I was trying to be ridiculous. CoC has the idea. All that and a Pizza cutter.
              Of course, with people in my house avoiding carbs and dairy, I haven't made them in a long time.

        3. I don't think you fully understand the benefits of buttermilk. Because once you've made these waffles, you'll have leftover buttermilk and you will then realize you have no choice but to make this. Buttermilk: the gift that keeps on giving.

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