Hello, hope everyone’s had a good weekend!
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I sadly didn’t grow up eating waffles and even pancakes were limited to holidays abroad with those extravagant American-style hotel breakfast buffets I loved so much. I almost always went for pancakes with lashings of maple syrup and especially loved watching the chefs cook them in front of you . Occasionally back at home my Mum would buy a container of Betty Crocker “shake to make pancake” mix and treat me and my brothers to a special Sunday breakfast. Anyone else ever have that stuff? It’s probably filled with nasty ingredients, but we certainly loved those pancakes!
Waffles are basically pancakes in a funny shape so I knew I’d like them, so much so that I bought myself a waffle iron a few years ago despite never having tried them. But my iron has only ever been used a couple of times since these past few years I’ve been living in university accommodation (and abroad) where kitchen space is rather limited…
Uni finished, waffles are back in my life! Hurrah! These Blueberry-Orange Buckwheat Waffles are reasonably healthy too. I incorporated buckwheat flour, oats and fruit, reduced the oil with unsweetened apple purée and didn’t overly sweeten the waffles…a generous drizzle of maple syrup sorted that out instead!
They turned out perfectly- crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The citrus and berries made them feel a little more summery and the buckwheat flour and oats give them a nice nutty flavour as well as making them super filling. I’ve shown two in the pictures below but it was a case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach and after one I admit I was pretty stuffed!
Naked waffles, hot and crispy.
If you don’t plan to eat all the waffles in one go, I recommend leaving them to cool on racks rather than stacking them so they stay crispy . They freeze really well too. When completely cool, wrap them up individually in foil or plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer. You can just pull one out when you fancy a special breakfast. I put them in the toaster to defrost and they get nice and crispy, just as good as fresh.
Pre maple syrup drowning…
That’s better!
I use a Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker 
and love it!
Ingredients
- 1 C Buckwheat flour
- 1/2 C Plain/all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C Rolled oats
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1-3/4 C Almond milk
- 1/3 C Unsweetened apple purée (apple sauce)
- 2 Tbsp Coconut sugar (or cane sugar)
- 2 Tbsp Oil-
- 2 Tbsp Ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1/2 to 2/3 C Frozen blueberries
- I served mine with sliced oranges and more blueberries and topped with maple syrup but a berry sauce and non-dairy yogurt is another tasty option.
Instructions
- Combine buckwheat flour through to salt in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl thoroughly whisk liquid ingredients, almond milk through to orange zest. Stir liquid ingredients into dry, just until combined.
- Leave batter to stand for 5 minutes while you preheat the waffle iron.
- Preheat the waffle iron for a few minutes while the batter is standing. Wipe or spray both grids of the waffle iron with oil.
- Ladle the batter onto the centre of the iron, making sure not to cover more than 2/3 of the iron’s surface (They will spread!). Close the iron and bake for 3-5 minutes (will vary with waffle irons- mine beeps when they’re cooked and is fairly accurate) or until the waffles can be removed easily.
- Remove to cooling rack and repeat until batter is all used up.
Notes
*I haven’t tried it out myself, but I imagine you could use this batter to make pancakes too if you don’t have a waffle iron. You could probably reduce or remove the oil too as it’s what gives waffles that characteristic crispy exterior and so is unnecessary for pancakes.
*To make these gluten-free sub a gluten-free all purpose flour for the 1/2 C wheat flour and use certified gluten-free oats.
*If you’re not a fan of buckwheat then try another whole grain flour: spelt, barley, wholewheat, teff etc.
Do you have a waffle iron? Any favourite recipes or topping ideas to share?
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These sound yummy!
Thanks Poppy, they made a pretty darn good breakfast!
For some reason I rarely ever make waffles or pancakes even though I love them so much! I really need to get on it…especially when there are such healthy delicious versions around like these!
You do! They can easily be a healthy breakfast but still taste like a special treat. Now I’ve got my waffle-iron out I’m envisaging all kinds of varieties
I love making waffles, especially with blueberries in them! I love the orange zest- I’m sure it makes these waffles really stand out!
Blueberries are definitely my favourite berry for baked goods:) You’re right, the citrus really adds “a little something something” to these waffles.
Bring on the brunch! I absolutely love waffles. There are just so many fun things you can do with them. Blueberries are by far my favorite way to enjoy them.
Making them again reminded me of how much I love them too! I’ll have to make more soon.