Category Archives: Desserts

Waffle Week: Toppings

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What would a waffle be without a perfect topping?

Waffles are a great canvas for a variety of syrups or fruit toppings.

Here are some of the things we have been pouring in those deep waffle pockets. Click through the titles to go to a page with the topping recipes.

Vanilla Buttermilk Syrup

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Blueberry Syrup (with some additional fresh blueberries).

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Also great on Cheesecake!

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Pure Maple Syrup (no recipe)

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Homemade Maple Pancake Syrup

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Fresh Berries and Cream (no recipe)

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Triple Berry Syrup

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Happy Waffle Making!

 

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Filed under Breakfast/Brunch, Condiments/Sauces, Desserts

Waffle Week: Lemon Yogurt Waffles

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Desserts in our house usually have to come in both a chocolate and non-chocolate variety. So, alongside our Double Chocolate Waffles, we had these Lemon Yogurt Waffles.

These waffles are a little sweeter than regular waffles (even after I cut the sugar in half from the original recipe), so I don’t think I would want them for breakfast. Little A had no problem eating them anytime of the day, however.

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The waffles are made with plain yogurt and flavored with fresh lemon zest. They have more of a light cake consistency than regular waffles.
The berry sauce was a perfect accompaniment for the sweet lemon taste of the waffles.

For Waffle Tips & Suggestions, click HERE.

RECIPE:

Lemon Yogurt Waffles

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1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
Grated zest of 2 lemons
½ tsp vanilla extract

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, oil, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour batter evenly into hot waffle maker (about 2 scant cups for the 4 small Belgian waffles in my waffle maker). Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or according to directions on your waffle maker. Remove waffles from waffle maker and place on a wire rack (not a plate). Serve immediately or keep warm in a warm oven (very low heat).

Makes 2-3 large Belgian waffles (8-12 small squares)

To freeze: Cool waffles on a wire rack. Place in Ziploc bags and freeze. Reheat individual frozen waffles in a toaster (for crispier edges) or microwave (for a soft waffle).

Recipe adapted from The Perfect Pantry

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Waffle Week: Double Chocolate Waffles

050711 010-1Dessert Waffles:
AKA, How to convince your mom to let you eat dessert for breakfast

We ate these Chocolate Waffles the first time for dessert topped with black raspberry ice cream and a triple-berry sauce. The kids convinced me they would also be good for breakfast the next morning, without the ice cream but with whipped cream instead. I don’t think that really changed the sugar content any!

These chocolate waffles are not too heavy, but with the addition of mini chocolate chips in the batter and topped with ice cream and berry syrup, they are reminiscent of a brownie sundae. Next time I would like to try them topped with vanilla ice cream and buttermilk syrup.

For Waffle Tips & Suggestions, click HERE.

RECIPE:

Double Chocolate Waffles

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2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup corn starch
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp (scant) cinnamon
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1/3 cup oil
6 Tbs granulated sugar
1 egg
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ cup mini chocolate chips

Combine flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Use a whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Whisk for a minute so it gets a little frothy. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry a little at a time, whisking to combine. Just stir until they’re combined and don’t over mix.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour batter evenly into hot waffle maker (about 2 scant cups for the 4 small Belgian waffles in my waffle maker). Sprinkle about 1/3 of the chocolate chips (for a large Belgian waffle maker) over the batter in the waffle iron. Spread lightly with a heat proof spatula so that a small amount of batter covers chocolate chips. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or according to directions on your waffle maker. Remove waffles from waffle maker and place on a wire rack (not a plate). Serve immediately or keep warm in a warm oven (very low heat).

Makes about 3 large Belgian waffles (12 small squares)

To freeze: Cool waffles on a wire rack. Place in Ziploc bags and freeze. Reheat individual frozen waffles in a toaster (for crispier edges) or microwave (for a soft waffle).

Recipe from Our Best Bites

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Filed under Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts

Waffle Week: Banana Nut Bread Waffles

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These waffles taste just like banana bread, laced with cinnamon and finely chopped nuts. And some great deep pockets just begging for Vanilla Buttermilk Syrup (recipe HERE). These waffles are one of our family’s favorites! Your kitchen will smell divine for the rest of the day.

For Waffle Tips & Strategies, click HERE.

RECIPE:

Banana Nut Bread Waffles

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2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups buttermilk or sour milk**
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (about 3 ripe bananas)
4 Tbs butter, melted
¾ cup walnuts, chopped

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix well. Stir in bananas and melted butter.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter. Fold in chopped nuts.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour batter evenly into hot waffle maker (about 2 cups for the 4 small Belgian waffles in my waffle maker). Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or according to directions on your waffle maker. Remove waffles from waffle maker and place on a wire rack (not a plate). Serve immediately or keep warm in a warm oven (very low heat).

Makes 3-4 large Belgian waffles (12-16 small squares)

**To make sour milk: add 2 Tbs lemon juice to a 2 cup measuring cup, fill to 1 ½ cup line with milk (whole milk works best). Stir; let sit 5 minutes before using. If using sour milk, add an additional 1-2 Tbs flour to batter.

To freeze: Cool waffles on a wire rack. Place in Ziploc bags and freeze. Reheat individual frozen waffles in a toaster (for crispier edges) or microwave (for a soft waffle).

Recipe adapted from Willow Bird Baking

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Vanilla Buttermilk Syrup

  • Servings: Makes about 2 cups
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1 ½ cups white or brown sugar (I use half white, half brown)
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 Tbs dark corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped**

Combine sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, baking soda, salt, and vanilla bean (both seeds and split pod) in a large pot (mixture will increase drastically in volume while cooking from the reaction between buttermilk and baking soda. Use a LARGE pot: soup pot size). Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to maintain a low simmer and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until syrup is a light golden brown. Remove from heat. Remove and discard vanilla bean pod. Serve warm.

Store in refrigerator. Syrup will thicken to a soft caramel consistency in the refrigerator. Reheat before serving.

Serve over Waffles, Pancakes, Ice Cream, or anywhere you would use a caramel sauce.

** You can substitute 1 tsp vanilla extract for the vanilla bean, if desired. Stir vanilla extract into syrup AFTER cooking and removing from heat.

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Quick & Easy Nutella Crescent Rolls

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A quick and easy idea today that isn’t really a recipe, as it only contains three ingredients: a tube of packaged crescent rolls, a jar of Nutella and some chopped nuts. I used walnuts, but chopped hazelnuts, pecans, or almonds would also be good. These are the jumbo-sized rolls, but you can make them with any of the varieties.

Great for kids to make for a Mother’s Day breakfast (or dessert). And always popular with hungry teenagers after early-morning seminary.

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Open tube of crescent rolls; separate dough into triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

3711 129-1Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown. Serve warm.

RECIPE:

Nutella Crescent Rolls

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1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (regular or jumbo)
Nutella
Finely chopped nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or pecans)

Unroll and separate raw crescent roll triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown (about 15-18 minutes at 350°F for the jumbo size).

Cool slightly. Serve warm.

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A Butterfly in Buttercream

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Today is my Little J’s 7th birthday. It is amazing how quickly time flies. My once-upon-a-time-baby is all grown up and decorating her own cakes now! I am glad she is still interested in fun little girl things like butterflies. Last year we made Cupcakes topped with Chocolate Butterflies for her 6th birthday. This year it was one great big butterfly cake.4911 071-1

Little J was in charge of design and decorations. She chose the color patterns of the icing sections, the sprinkles and the M&M borders (I love Easter-colored candies!). She also put on all of the M&Ms and sprinkles and shaped the antennae. She is very meticulous! My job was heavy construction: cake cutting and icing spreading.

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She carefully separated a rainbow mix of sprinkles into separate colors.

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If you look closely, the sprinkles are shaped like tiny butterflies. Little J says they are the baby butterflies and the big cake is the Mommy Butterfly.

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Congratulations Little J on a cake well done!

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Happy 7th Birthday Little J. We love you lots!

RECIPE:

Buttercream Icing

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½ cup butter
½ cup shortening (or additional butter)
1 lb (4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt
Additional milk to thin icing

Cream butter and shortening with a mixer. Beat in powdered sugar, 2 Tbs milk, vanilla and salt. This yields 3 CUPS STIFF icing (for piping borders and decorations).

For thinner icing (spreading on cake): Gradually beat in additional milk, 1 tsp at a time, until icing is desired consistency.

FOR CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM: Add 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled and additional 1 Tbs milk.

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Filed under Desserts, Kids' Cakes