I know I’m getting a little ahead of myself with this recipe, but fall is my absolute favorite season, and I can’t help but celebrate it year round.
These waffles are seriously like a burst of autumn on your taste buds–perfectly crispy on the outside, light and fluffy when you dig your fork in. If I could have sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie and spiced lattes every day, I probably would. I’d also probably pretend that the leaves on the trees outside my apartment window are those gorgeous shades of goldenrod, butterscotch and deep scarlet. Something about it all just makes my heart sing. I’m patiently waiting for October to come around every year.
While I can’t make the leaves change color (and they don’t really change in AZ anyway), luckily we can still cook whatever we want. Reminiscent of a lightly spiced pumpkin pie, these sweet potato waffles are topped with pecans and drizzled with homemade caramel sauce. I like to cook mine in a Belgian waffle-maker so they turn out as thick and fluffy as possible. The caramel sauce adds that punch of sweetness in addition to the little pieces of sweet potato throughout, and the pecans add a nice crunch. Perfect for a rainy fall morning–and perfect for a sunny summer one, too.
Sweet Potato Waffles
1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes (About two large sweet potatoes)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
A pinch of allspice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, separate egg whites
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
With a fork, poke a few holes in your sweet potatoes and put them in the microwave for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are soft and squishy. Scoop the pulp out with a large spoon and add to a mixing bowl. Add melted butter, milk, vanilla, brown sugar and egg yolks (keep egg whites separate in a small bowl) and beat on lowest speed setting or stir well enough to remove most of the clumps (Don’t beat on high or it will splatter! Also, don’t worry about getting rid of all of the clumps. We want some of them there ^_^). Beat the egg whites until peaks form and set aside for now.
In a separate, large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir until everything is uniform. Again, clumps of sweet potato are okay. Gently fold in the egg whites.
Spray your waffle maker with a non-stick spray and use a medium heat setting or the setting you would normally use. Drizzle them with caramel sauce, sprinkle some pecans and indulge!
To make the caramel sauce (and you totally should, it makes a huge difference), refer to the recipe here at Sally’s Baking Addiction blog. Her recipes are fantastic. I used unsalted butter and added a few shakes of salt.
alyssa's breakfast café 🌻 