It’s beginning to look like the most wonderful time of the year! (See what I did there?)
We put up our Christmas decorations a few weekends ago, and things are looking decidedly merry all around us.

Like previous years, we had a tree trimming breakfast party; it’s a tradition now. It was pretty awesome, I whipped us up a batch of these jolly gingerbread waffles with cinnamon baked pears, and sang along to carols.

We tried something different with our tree this year, we found an irresistible potted Norfolk Island pine, strung it with tiny lights and festive ornaments, and voila, we have a cute living Christmas tree.

These waffles got us perfectly into the holiday spirit. Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of gingerbread spice, but there’s a touch of warmth, spice and sweet that’ll appeal to everyone.
We baked some pears spiked with cinnamon and ginger to go with it, and served it with whipped coconut cream. They do however, do well with just a dusting of powdered sugar; that’s how we do leftovers.
Leftovers can be frozen, just heat them up in the toaster when ready and you’re good go.

We tried these waffles for the first time last Christmas. They turned out so well with the baked pears and some leftover (matcha) whipped coconut cream, they went down on the menu again for this year.

Not that you need to wait a whole year to have gingerbread waffles, but I do like the ritual of making them around the holidays. I love the deep flavours from the molasses, the warm spice and aromatic flavours and how they’re not too sweet, they’re slightly crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.

One trick I learned for making a big batch is to keep cooked waffles warm in an oven, place them on a cooling rack over a baking tray and keep the oven warm at about 200 degrees while you work on the others.

Gingerbread Waffles with Cinnamon Baked Pears

2018-12-11 20:20:30

Spice up the holidays with these perfectly spiced gingerbread waffles, deliciously topped with fragrant warm baked pears.

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For waffles

1. 1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water
2. 1 1/3 buttermilk (2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar + nut milk to fill cup to 1 1/3)
3. 2 tablespoons non-dairy butter, melted
4. 1/2 cup of molasses
5. 1/2 cup of brown sugar
6. 1 3/4 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour (I like a blend of 1 cup all-purpose & 3/4 white whole-wheat)
7. 1/2 - 1 tablespoon ground ginger or 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground ginger
8. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
9. 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
11. 2 teaspoons baking powder
12. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
13. 1/2 teaspoon salt
14. Melted butter or cooking spray to coat waffle iron

For baked pears

1. 2 – 3 pears, cored and quartered (peeling pears optional)
2. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3. 1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground ginger
4. 1 tablespoon maple syrup
5. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6. Pinch of salt to taste

Bake pears

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking tray with parchment paper
2. Place quartered pears in a small bowl and sprinkle cinnamon and ginger over it
3. Add maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt, and toss to coat
4. Arrange pears on baking tray and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until soft
5. Serve warm with waffles

Make waffles

1. Mix ground flax seed and water in a small cup or bowl, let mixture sit and thicken for at least 5 minutes
2. Combine flax seed mixture, buttermilk, butter, molasses and sugar in a small bowl and mix
3. In a large bowl, add flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mix to combine
4. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture and stir well until well combined
5. Grease and preheat your waffle iron
6. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into waffle iron and cook per the waffle iron’s instructions
7. Serve warm with baked pears, maple syrup and whipped coconut cream
8. Enjoy!

By Elsa Brobbey | the whinery

the Whinery by Elsa Brobbey https://elsbro.com/blog/

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