OMG a Recipe: A Waffle-y Big Adventure

I blame the punchy buzz of morning coffee for doing a post mash-up about waffles and a 1995 Hugh Grant/Alan Rickman movie called An Awfully Big Adventure. It makes for a somewhat pun-ny post title, and maybe one could argue these Spiced Waffles with Greek Yogurt and Apple Compote have sweetness cut with a bit of tart sourness -- much like the movie -- but that would be really stretching relevancy, no? Meh... let's just continue on this waffle-y bad pun.

I waffle for homemade waffles - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I actually put together this breakfast combo a while back, when family was in town last spring. Call them vintage waffles. I meant to post the recipe sooner, but if you write a blog, you know how life happens, posts back up, and then you find yourself trying to make this stuff look freshy-fresh when you know you made this thing like, a year ago. But it doesn't mean it's bad, quite the contrary, as I was reminded I should make these again when there's a brunch needing to be had. I wanted to make an apple pie-inspired of waffle, substituting Greek yogurt for ice cream. You could make it more dessert-like and used whipped cream, but the goal behind this particular breakfast combination was to balance a little bit of health with treat-value. The waffles are made from whole wheat and oat flour; there's still eggs and butter in it, so it's not totally health-conscious, but I tried to keep the sugar content low, knowing it would be topped with fruit. I prefer using a Belgian waffle iron -- I love the big-toothed grid, leaving larger spots for other flavors to seep in -- but any ol' waffle iron would do. You could make these as pancakes, the conversion is included in the recipe below, but come on -- drag that waffle iron out. It's lonely. It needs to feel useful, no matter how much of a pain it is to clean. And that's the thing about waffles -- you make it in large batches, so that's why it's great to feed a small group you're entertaining on a Sunday.

The movie you shouldn't see while entertaining guests is the post's namesake -- An Awfully Big Adventure. I linked the preview if you want to get a peek, but let me assure you, the charming preview was the exact opposite of what the story was. It was marketed as a clever comedy, and I got roped in by the perennial charms of Alan Rickman. Frankly, I was a little scarred for life after seeing it. I know it was years ago when I rented it on Ye Olde VHS format, but to this day, I still have a little bit of a beef with this movie. It went from slightly melancholic British comedy to "whoa, things got super-dark, super-fast," leaving you with the feeling that maybe you should make some warm and toasty waffles with a comforting apple compote to calm your disturbed nerves. Or make a really stiff drink, repeat as necessary. It wasn't a bad movie, the performances were all very solid and the story was quite compelling, but dangit, I was expecting something sweet and got the equivalent of a punch in the face. But at least I got to use it as a play on words for a waffle post; build those bridges one carb at a time.

How breakfast feels like dessert - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Spiced Waffle Mix
Dry Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour (oatmeal ground up in food processor
to flour consistency)
2 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 tbsp pumpkin spice powder
Wet Ingredients:
2 cups water or milk
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

This mix can be used for pancakes if you don’t have a waffle iron, just reduce the butter/oil amount to 4 tablespoons.

You can also mix the dry ingredients ahead of time to always have a pancake/waffle mix handy for future use, and then add the wet ingredients when you’re ready to prepare them.

To make the waffles, sift all the dry ingredients together in one bowl. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Slowly drizzle the wet ingredients in with the dry, mixing until just incorporated – it’s OK if there’s a few lumps in the mix. Do not over mix or the waffles will be tough.

Spiced Apple Compote
3 small Granny Smith apples, skinned, cored and diced
4 tablespoons of butter
½ cup of sugar
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg

In a sauté pan, heat to medium high and melt butter. Add in the sugar and stir until the sugar melts down and begins to caramelize into a light brown. Add the diced apples and continue to stir, cooking down the apples, releasing most of their liquid and becoming soft and almost translucent. When the apples are fully cooked down, resembling the filling in an apple pie, add the vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg, mixing well. Turn off the heat and serve compote immediately over waffles or pancakes, or refrigerate and reheat until ready to serve.

This is also good served with plain yogurt. You can serve the compote spooned over a dollop of Greek style yogurt, on top of the spiced waffle for a sweet breakfast.