Gingerbread Waffles Recipe – Sally’s Baking Addiction

Today’s gingerbread waffles come together with a handful of basic kitchen ingredients, plus plenty of deep, warm gingerbread spices. They’re crisp and light right out of the waffle maker, and taste fantastic with maple pecan syrup, sugared cranberries, and/or a flurry of confectioners’ sugar on top. What could be better on a winter weekend morning?

I have to admit, I don’t whip out the waffle maker often. When I’m serving something luxurious (and sweet) for breakfast, I usually turn to this baked cream cheese French toast casserole. But that’s what helps make homemade waffles extra special; they’re not an everyday breakfast, so when you serve them, they’re REALLY appreciated. Do you make homemade waffles often?

I’m certainly glad I have a waffle maker, because of recipes like this!! These spiced gingerbread waffles are my new favorite reason to get out the neglected appliance. And if you enjoy these by the fire with snow falling outside, you’re definitely winning at winter breakfasts. ????

Here’s Why You’ll Love These Gingerbread Waffles

• Crisp outside and chewy-soft inside
• Excellent gingerbread spice flavor that really comes through
• Not overly sweet, so maple pecan syrup is a perfect (and easy) topping
• Makes for a special holiday breakfast
• Can be made as gingerbread pancakes, too!

I used my buttermilk waffles recipe as the base. They’re a shade darker, thanks to the molasses, brown sugar, and spices. I added molasses, and therefore a little more flour. I slightly reduced the sugar, switched it to brown, and very slightly reduced the buttermilk. With each test batch (there were 3!), I added more and more spices so you really get that spice flavor, like a batch of gingerbread cookies.

Most notably, I skipped separating the eggs. This is a handy step for extra fluffy waffles, but I didn’t notice much of a difference here. The batter is already quite light.

Let Me Show You How to Make Them

Making a homemade waffle batter is easier than you think, and tastes so much better than a packaged mix. If you can turn on your waffle maker, and mix ingredients together, you can make waffles.

1. Preheat your waffle maker. Here’s the waffle maker I own and love. If you’re looking for seasonal shapes, I love these mini snowflake and gingerbread person waffle makers.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. 
3. Whisk the wet ingredients together and combine it all. Combine but do not over-mix! Some small lumps are fine—don’t worry about that.
4. Pour batter into greased waffle maker. Close the lid and cook the waffles until crisp, which only takes about 4 minutes in my waffle maker. All waffle makers are different, so keep an eye on your cooking waffles and check often. Repeat with remaining batter.
5. Keep waffles warm as you cook the rest. If serving all of the waffles at once, transfer the cooked waffles to a wire rack on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven to keep them warm until the whole batch is ready.

Here’s the wet ingredient mixture. Pour it all into your dry ingredients:

Some small lumps are fine. Pour into your preheated and greased waffle maker:

Can I Make These as Gingerbread Pancakes?

Yes, please do! My team and I tested this batter cooked as pancakes, and they were also delicious. Pancakes have a softer, spongier texture than the crispness you get with waffles, but the flavor is exactly the same.

Optional Maple Pecan Topping

You can serve the gingerbread waffles with a simple pat of butter and your favorite syrup, but I especially love them with toasted pecans and warm maple syrup.

Toast the pecans in a saucepan on the stove for just a few minutes, then add the maple syrup to the pecans in the pan and let it warm through (doesn’t take long!), before spooning the mixture over the top of the plated gingerbread waffles.

I also added some sugared cranberries for garnish (instructions for these included in my recipe for pumpkin pie), and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. The snowy sugar and sparkling red berries make this breakfast extra festive for the holidays.

Of course all of these toppings are optional, so feel free to pick and choose your gingerbread waffle’s destiny. They’re also fantastic topped with lemon curd (lemon and ginger are a fated match… see these gingerbread muffins) and homemade whipped cream!

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