There’s much to love about December.
From family traditions to hometown festivals, from decorating with garland to the lighting of trees, from cooking and baking to holiday guests, December ushers in good tidings of heart and home, and of family and friends both near and far.
What better way to pamper family and guests this season than with the aroma of warm, holiday spices wafting all through the house? Few breakfasts make that easier to accomplish than these delicious Gingerbread Waffles.
Served hot off the waffle iron and seasoned with a touch of brown sugar, molasses and spice, these waffles are perfect for enjoying all winter long. When accompanied by warm maple syrup, a bowl of fresh fruit, a side of yogurt or even a hearty helping of scrambled eggs & bacon, these Gingerbread Waffles will appeal to young and old, male and female alike.
Gingerbread Waffles
(recipe adapted from Taste of Home’s Holiday and Celebrations Cookbook, 2005)
for the gingerbread waffles
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg, separated
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (may substitute regular milk if necessary)
- 1/4 cup molasses (may substitute maple syrup if desired)
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
for serving (optional)
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting
- whipped cream and cinnamon sticks to garnish
- warm maple syrup
Assembly
Gather 3 bowls: 1 large, 1 medium and 1 small. Preheat waffle iron.
In the large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients (flour through ground cloves); blend thoroughly. In the medium-sized bowl, mix brown sugar and egg yolk with an electric mixer until fluffy; add buttermilk, molasses and butter. Stir into the dry ingredients (in larger bowl) until just combined—do not over mix.
In the small bowl, beat the egg white and cream of tartar using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the existing batter.
Quickly (and evenly) spoon batter onto a preheated waffle iron. Bake according to manufacturer’s directions, until light golden brown. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if desired, and/or garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon sticks. Serve with warm maple syrup.
Yield: 8 waffles. Double or halve the recipe as needed to produce more (or less) waffles.
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I think I can smell those from here. Amazing
…and now I need to add a waffle iron to my Christmas list. These are gorgeous.
Ooh yes pick me pick me! I love anything gingerbread flavoured and it’s about breakfast time here in Australia now
woah, these look amazing! i love anything gingerbread during the cold winter season…i actually had ginger bread coffee the other morning! i am definitely adding this to my list of recipes to try. thanks for sharing!
yum! i love the shape of your waffles too! where did you get that waffle iron?
I love the aroma of gingerbread. I’d probably serve these for dessert rather than breakfast; lately I’m into dessert waffles, especially if they’re sweet.
MPM – These are amazing! You MUST give them a try—I think your family would love them.
Tara – Thank you. A waffle iron would definitely make a great addition to any cook’s wish list, especially if you don’t have own already! By the way, I love the title of your blog—Seven Spoons is so catchy!
Lorraine – I hope you make (or have made) these this week, and I hope you enjoy(ed) them as much as I did!
Megan – Gingerbread coffee sounds incredibly delicious & comforting. That said, any fan of gingerbread flavor will absolutely adore these waffles.
Sara – That waffle iron is actually a small Cuisinart I inherited from my father when he passed away. I have no idea where he bought it, but I like it too. It makes me happy to know that design caught your eye as well—my father had good taste!
Lydia – Gingerbread aroma lovers unite! Actually I love the thought of your dessert waffles, but I’m not sure these are sweet enough for that occasion. On second thought, I think they’d be perfect—who says dessert has to be so sweet anyway. Enjoy!
These sound delicious! A friend of my made something like these once and then drizzled a powdered sugar glaze with a touch of orange over them.
Can I come over with my jammies on? I love the heart shape and I can only imagine the taste!
I do make waffeles at home, but never made them with spices.
These looks so yummy delicous
Thanks for such a fantastic and seasonal recipe Sandie. These could easily stand alone but I see them with a nice cranberry syrup:D
These look so wonderful! I love gingerbread and I’m sure these would be a hit with my Norwegian fiance since their the heart waffles just like they do in Scandinavia. Thanks for the great recipe!
my stars. rise and shine, indeed. if these were available to me every morning, i doubt i’d have any problems getting up. as it is, i have to count to three and literally heave myself out of the bed.
I will be giving this recipe a try! Sounds great!
These really make me wish I had a waffle maker!
I keep saying I need a waffle maker, and then I forget about it. And here are these delicious sounding waffles! I’ve only had “flavored” waffles once before–pumpkin–and I was in love! I’ve lived a life of almost all “plain” waffles and I’d be smitten to try these at this time of year.
I can definitely tell from the pictures alone that those waffles are crisp. That’s a nice recipe. No waffle iron here, though
I love your waffle iron too!! It is so cute! I made the waffles this morning, and I’m sad to say they only came out ok. The taste was great, but they came out soggy unless I cooked them to one step away from burning. They tasted GREAT though.. yummm… My waffle iron is one of those circular ones, and the divots are rather deep.. not sure if that had somehting to do with it. Any suggestions??
Melissa – Orange powdered sugar glaze sound delicious!
Noble Pig – Jammies are a requirement. Nothing says, “Good Morning” like dining in comfort!
Happy Cook – I hadn’t either, until I tried this recipe. Give it a whirl sometime, you’ll love the results (this is now my favorite go-to waffle).
Val – Ooo, cranberry syrups sounds as delightful as orange powdered sugar glaze!
Andrea – Thanks & you’re welcome. Waffles (any variety) are just great, aren’t they?! So comforting and delicious…
Grace – If these waffles can’t wake you up and get you going in the morning, maybe the additional aroma of fresh brewed coffee would?
Stef – Thank you, enjoy!
Maris – Buy thee a waffle maker (a must-own and perfect for lazy weekend breakfasts). I completely understand though—you just don’t realize how much you’ll love using a waffle iron until you have one, and you do get use to going without. That said, once you buy (and use) a waffle iron, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it!
Mike – All the cooking you do and you don’t own a waffle maker either? Read my response to Maris!
Jude – Another non-waffle iron cook? What’s going on here? Read my response to Mike & Maris.
Jess – Thanks, but just ok? That’s not nearly good enough! Let’s see if we can remedy these waffles for you…
First of all, I have to say that because of the spices used in this waffle batter, the waffles will appear darker (and therefore more cooked) than they actually are (this is because of the gingerbread spices—naturally they will look darker than a traditional waffle).
That said, if you use the appropriate amount of batter for your waffle iron (in mine, you only have to use about a 1/4 cup (or less) of batter), and cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions (or until the indicator light goes out), they should cook up perfectly and not soggy at all. In that regard, they cook exactly like a traditional waffle would.
I’m glad they tasted great to you though, so I urge you to give them a second (or third) try—the flavor alone is worth it. Perhaps try using less batter and/or letting them cook until the indicator light goes out (if you have that feature on your waffle iron), knowing they will LOOK dark, but that’s ok, as dark doesn’t necessarily mean burnt (although it is possible to burn any waffle so you have to be the final judge).
All you can really do is experiment with a few more batches in your deep divot waffle iron—you’ll get them to cook perfectly for you, just don’t let their gingerbread color deceive you (as the darker color got me at first too—had to experiment with a few batches). Good luck though, I do hope they turn out for you. I made another batch over the weekend and they were even better than I remembered.
Thanks for commenting, I appreciate your question
A friend just linked me here and I’m so glad he did!! These look delicious!
Even though it’s not Christmas, gingerbread waffles sounded yummy to me this cold, damp Pacific Northwest (spring) morning! Came across this recipe and had to give it a try. Oh my goodness, the smell alone while these bad boys were cooking was about to send me into a fit. I found that the finished waffles were darker than the traditional ones. They also were a tad soft when I removed them from the waffle iron but, as they cooled, firmed up to a nice crispy beautiful waffle. I’m pleased that even my 3 year old son is eating them. This is definitely a recipe to keep.
I got this waffle maker (Cuisinart) at a specialty cooking store in Boulder, CO (Pearl Street Mall).
These waffles are OUTSTANDING! I just made them and shared with my mom. We both agree that they are even better than actual gingerbread because the flavor is there, but not as sweet. Delicious! I put pumpkin curd topping on mine, along with some whipped cream. I will definitely be making these to share with family and friends!