The Breakfast Club: Pumpkin waffles

It seems I can’t say enough about the merits of an A+ kind of breakfast (OK, I probably can — and have — said enough about my love of breakfast foods, but surely someone else out there shares my love of starchy AM goodness). I think I could eat breakfast for every meal of the day and be a seriously happy camper. That is, until the sugar shock sinks in and I transform from a fun-loving breakfast gal into a grumpy, emotional low-blood-sugar lady in need of protein — stat! On second thought, perhaps it’s best that, for the most part, breakfast is a once-a-day occurrence. All good things in moderation, right?

That being said, I think it’s high time we all start easing up on the dinner party business in exchange for some breakfast club action. No, Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez need not top your guest list; I’m talking a breakfast club formed with the sole purpose of providing a locale at which to share gobs of delicious morning-type eats. Sure, a nighttime soiree with snazzy dishes is always fun, but the kitchen is capable of doing some pretty magical things in the wee hours of the day.

And speaking of magical morning cookery, our little kitchen recently produced a batch of pumpkin waffles that were so, so, sooooo delicious, I’m 100 percent sure we’ll be making them for years and years to come. They’re wonderfully fallish in all their warm, pumpkin wonder, not to mention their perfect mix of slightly crispy outsides and light and fluffy insides. Mix that with the fact that the extras can be frozen and then reheated in the oven or toasted the next day, and they’ve got to be the best waffles we’ve had in all our born days. I think a calling of the breakfast club is in order.

••••••••••••••••••••

Pumpkin Waffles
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup packed pumpkin puree
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• cooking spray for waffle maker

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F, and preheat waffle iron (go ahead and spray it with the cooking spray so it’s all ready to roll). Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Whisk eggs yolks in a large bowl with milk, pumpkin and butter until smooth. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined.

Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the waffle batter, and fold until just combined.

Spoon batter into waffle maker (I used about ½ cup batter per Belgian-waffle-sized waffle), and spread it out evenly. Cook according to your waffle maker’s instructions (waffle makers are known to be bossy).

To keep waffles warm while the rest of them are cooking, transfer them to the oven rack. When all the waffles are done, pull them out, and enjoy your happy, fall-y, tastes-so-good-you-can’t-believe-it breakfast! We served ours with butter (yes, more butter) and powdered sugar.

••••••••••••••••••••

What’s your favorite meal of the day? Are you a breakfast fan? A lunch lover? Maybe dinnertime is more your cup of tea. Do tell!

XO,
Katrina