Well, that was fun :)


I'm talking about the most glorious time of the year: holiday parties, peppermint-flavored everything, Christmas lights and shopping, family gatherings, gluttonous "let loose - it's the holidays!" type of dinners (my favorite), out-of-town visitors and Napa excursions, and THREE separate pumpkin waffle brunches.



Wait, did you just catch that? Three back-to-back brunches of pumpkin waffles?? Yeah, apparently there's no such thing as variety in the Choi household. But hey, I'm a firm believer that if you've found something that works...keep it coming! :)



Not only do these waffles work -- but they've been tested to perfection (90+ times!) via this blog. That's right, an entire blog dedicated to pumpkin waffles...ummmmm, who's the obsessed one now? Anyway, this recipe yields a wonderfully spicy waffle with a bold pumpkin flavor. Depending on how you cook them, they can turn out either light and crispy [less batter with a longer cooking time] or a bit thicker and chewier [more batter with a shorter cooking time]. I prefer the former, but both versions are pretty tasty.



Although our pumpkin intake was just a teensy bit overkill this Christmas season, I think we've discovered a new annual (pumpkin) tradition. And the best thing about traditions is that they're frequented often :D

Hope everyone had a great holiday...2011, here we come!



The Ultimate Pumpkin Waffle
Recipe from PumpkinWaffles

1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm

1. Lightly oil the waffle iron with vegetable oil, and set it to the desired temperature.

2. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and whisk to blend.

3. Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium sized bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

4. Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

5. Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form – about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Set aside.

6. Pour melted butter into the yolk/milk/pumpkin mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine.

7. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix them together until just combined. A little lumpiness is fine. That will smooth out when the egg whites are added.

8. Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white bits are obvious.

9. Once the waffle iron is heated, you’re ready to pour the batter. For my belgian waffle maker (All-Clad), I use 1/3 C batter per section. Cook time is around 4 minutes and 30 seconds.