When I was in Salt Lake a few years ago, I met up with some friends at Bruges Waffles & Frites. It was the first time I had eaten a Liege Belgian waffle and I instantly fell in love. The sweetness and the texture come together to create waffle magic. (P.S. Bruges’ fries are amazing, too! Here is my post about our visit to Bruges if you’re interested.)

Not too long after that, my Aunt Sue posted a recipe for Liege waffles on our family Facebook page. I’ve had that recipe tucked away for two years waiting for the moment I finally got around to purchasing Belgian pearl sugar so I could make the waffles.

That still hasn’t happened, BUT…when we moved away from Menlo Park earlier this year, our Swedish friends the Montags gave us a box of Swedish pearl sugar as a going away gift. They know how obsessed I am with bulle and Swedish pearl sugar is what you traditionally top the bread with. It was such a great gift, they know me too well!

Anyway, Swedish pearl sugar is smaller than Belgian pearl sugar, but I decided it was close enough and finally gave the waffle recipe a try.

These waffles are a dream, best eaten at brunch or even as dessert. They are CRAZY sweet. As Sue points out in the recipe, you sort of feel like you had sugar shot straight into your veins! But in a good way, of course.

I highly recommend this recipe and Liege waffles in general. Such a delectable treat! And, yes, cleaning your waffle iron afterwards is a big pain, but it’s worth it!

Liege Belgian Waffles

 

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Author: Jane Maynard (as given to me by Aunt Sue)

Recipe type: Breakfast

Ingredients

• 2 C flour
• 1 C Belgian pearl sugar*
• 1 C melted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 package yeast (2 T)
• ⅓ C lukewarm water
• 1½ T granulated sugar (vanilla sugar if you have it)
• ⅛ t salt

Instructions

1. Mix yeast, 1½ T sugar and salt into the lukewarm water. Let yeast dissolve and sit for 15 minutes (it should get foamy). In the meantime, melt the butter.
2. Put flour in a large bowl. Make a hole in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Whisk together the eggs and melted butter and add to the flour as well. Knead until you get a nice, even dough. Let it rest and rise until dough doubles.
3. Gently mix in the pearl sugar.
4. Let dough rest for another 15 minutes. Preheat Belgian waffle iron.
5. Place waffle dough into the waffle maker (see Sue’s notes below for a tip on this part) and bake for 3-5 minutes. Because the sugar was mixed into the dough later in the process, it will melt and caramelize and give you that special Liege waffle taste. Be careful when removing waffles from the iron as the sugar can be hot and sticky. Place on a cooling rack so the waffles can crisp up.

Notes

Sue's notes: I can’t find the original website to credit the brilliant person who wrote this recipe. Also, you need to think of the batter as a ball, almost like picking up a blob and being able to chuck it at someone across the room. It does not pour AT ALL! You will press the iron down over the dough to flatten it out to bake. Also, when the waffles are cooked, they will need to be prodded out of the waffle iron. They seem kind of floppy when first baked. Place them on a cooling rack and as they cool a bit, they become crispy as the caramelized sugar needs to cool to get hard. They are crispy and amazingly delicious. I could only eat a quarter of a waffle without feeling like I had literally shot sugar straight into my veins. BEWARE OF SUGAR SHOCK! P.S. I only use the Waring Pro Waffle Baker that you flip once you place the batter in the baker.

Jane's note: I don't have a fancy Waring Pro Belgian waffle iron. Mine is a simple iron, but it IS a Belgian maker - you want the thicker waffle plates for this recipe.

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*Here is a website where you can Belgian pearl sugar straight from a town called Tienen in Belgium. You can also get Belgian pearl sugar on Amazon. Sue has also used turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) and says you get a similar effect. Liege waffle purists don’t even like using the Swedish pearl sugar, but you can do whatever you want as far as I’m concerned! 😉

The week is almost over and I am happy to report that the Silk milk challenge was a success! I was able to use Pure Almond Vanilla and Soy Vanilla Light in place of regular milk with no problem. In fact, the challenge has opened up the world of “alternative milk” possibilities to me and I am looking forward to trying other flavors, especially more nut milks and rice milk!

I knew during the challenge I needed to try baking something that I normally use milk in. We make waffles and pancakes all the time, so I definitely wanted to see how one of those recipes would work subbing out the milk. The Pure Almond Vanilla milk seemed like it would work well in terms of flavor so I gave it a try..

The waffles were delish! My friend Wendy sampled them with me and we both agreed they were great. I used the Pure Almond Vanilla because I thought the almond would make for a nice flavor in the waffles. The waffles cooked a little differently than normal and never got very brown, which surprised me. But the texture was great and Wendy and I both liked the subtle, not overpowering almond flavor of the waffles. I will definitely make them this way again and of course I’ll share the recipe with you below!

While I’m sure I’ll use cow’s milk again, especially when Owen is less sensitive to it, I am really happy to have discovered some alternatives. I really liked the Soy Vanilla Light and Pure Almond Vanilla that I used this week. Obviously these two milks are both sweetened and have a vanilla flavor. They worked well with my current needs, but I can see that they may not work with everything. As I mentioned before, after having tried these milks and really enjoying them, I’m excited to try other flavors and varieties based on different recipes and uses. And all of your suggestions over the week have been super helpful – thank you! I definitely count the week as a success and look forward to further expanding my milk horizons…

Fluffy Almond Milk Waffles

 

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Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups Silk Pure Almond Vanilla milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 Tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

1. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and Pure Almond Vanilla milk.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix.
4. Cook as you normally would in a waffle iron. Enjoy with lots of butter and syrup!

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• Classic Waffles (light and fluffy)
• My New Favorite Waffle Recipe
• Swedish Pancakes

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Cuisinart 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker
• OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowl Set with Handles
• Kitchenaid Measuring Cups and Spoons
• OXO Silicone Spatula

For years I’ve used the waffle recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book. I like the recipe because the waffles come out airy and fluffy. However, they sort of fold under pressure…add butter, moisture or syrup, and they tend to go kind of flat, which is frustrating. The last few times I’ve made waffles I’ve used Mark Bittman’s Quick and Easy Waffle recipe from How to Cook Everything and I’m really liking it.

This recipe is a little sweeter, and the waffles are a little heavier…but not too heavy. And they keep their shape and crispiness, no matter what you throw at them. Oh, and they’re easy, making this recipe great for a last minute meal. It’s my new fave, despite how beloved the Better Homes & Gardens recipe is in my heart.

My New Favorite Waffle Recipe

 

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Slightly sweet, reliable go-to waffle recipe that is now my favorite! (Directions below written in my own words.)

Author: Mark Bittman in How to Cook Everything

Recipe type: Breakfast

Ingredients

• Canola or other natural oli for brushing waffle iron
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 T sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1½ C milk (Jane note: I usually use about 1¾ cups)
• 2 eggs
• 4 T butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
2. In another bowl, melt butter in microwave. Add milk, eggs and vanilla and whisk well.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little milk. (I always start off adding 1½ cups milk as directed, but generally had another ¼ cup or so at this point.) You want the batter to remain slightly lumpy.
4. Cook in the waffle iron as you normally cook waffles. Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe works well in both classic and Belgian waffle makers.

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• Classic Waffles (light and fluffy)
• Fluffy Almond Milk Waffles
• Swedish Pancakes

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Cuisinart 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker
• Cuisinart Classic Waffle Maker
• OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowl Set with Handles
• Kitchenaid Measuring Cups and Spoons
• OXO Silicone Spatula

This is the recipe my mom always used for waffles when I was growing up. It makes a light and fluffy waffle, thanks to separating the eggs, beating the egg whites and then carefully folding them into the batter right before cooking. Enjoy!

This recipe originally came from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, although the directions written below are in my own words. When I was growing up I always thought it was funny how trashed the waffle and pancake page was in my mom’s copy of the book. Fast forward 30 years and mine looks exactly the same, which makes me mighty happy.

Classic Waffles

 

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From Better Homes & Gardens cookbook

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Breakfast

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups sifted flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, separating the yolks and whites
• 1¾ cups milk
• ½ cup vegetable or canola oil

Instructions

1. Sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) into a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the egg yolk, milk and oil in another bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined and still has small lumps.
3. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
4. Carefully fold the egg whites into the waffle batter, just until uniformly mixed.
5. Cook waffles per waffle iron instructions and serve hot!

Notes

I have made this recipe with half white flour and half white whole wheat flour and they came out great!

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• My New Favorite Waffles
• Fluffy Almond Milk Waffles
• Swedish Pancakes

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Cuisinart Classic Waffle Maker
• OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowl Set with Handles
• Kitchenaid Measuring Cups and Spoons
• OXO Silicone Spatula
• Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer