Remember when I posted Alice Waters’ recipe for whole wheat waffles a few months ago and said they weren’t quite as crispy as I’d like them to be? Apologies to Ms. Waters, but these waffles totally trump hers. They are as crisp as can be, with an incredible crunch and an impossibly fluffy interior, not to mention a heavenly coconut fragrance and flavor. They’re everything I dreamed they could be.
I discovered King Arthur Flour‘s recipe for whole wheat waffles last month through the commenters on Orangette. I had just finished reading (and falling in love with) Molly Wizenberg’s book, A Homemade Life
Hungry for more of Molly’s wonderful writing, I visited her blog and came across a post in which she asked her readers for their favorite waffle recipe. She received over 200 suggestions; her people know their waffles. Being the whole grain nerd that I am, I scanned through all of the comments for the words “whole wheat” and noticed that the clear consensus was this whole wheat waffle recipe by King Arthur Flour. It seemed almost too simple, too basic with no special tricks, but the five star rating and glowing reviews convinced me that this recipe might just be “the one”. The perfect whole wheat waffle recipe.
Of course, being me, I had to change it up a little. You may have noticed that I’ve been on a coconut kick lately, so I couldn’t resist trading the regular butter and milk for coconut oil and coconut milk. Success! These waffles are quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted, and most certainly the best I’ve ever made.
I have also been on a cranberry kick lately, so I decided to make a quick and easy cranberry sauce. The recipe below doesn’t make a ton, enough for a big spoonful for each waffle. It’s really delicious, but to be honest, these coconut waffles don’t need anything special. Real maple syrup is just right.
Cranberry Cinnamon Sauce Recipe
Adapted from Green Market Baking Book
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot starch (or cornstarch)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions:
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Stir constantly for about three to five minutes, until the cranberries pop, the sauce thickens and turns red. That’s it!
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons turbinado (raw) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature light coconut milk (or lukewarm milk)
- 1/3 cup melted virgin coconut oil (or butter or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (egg, coconut milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract).
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. The batter will be a little lumpy, which is fine.
- Cook the waffles as directed by the waffle iron manufacturer.
- Adapted from King Arthur Flour’s recipe for whole wheat waffles.
- Yields about 3 1/2 Belgian waffles.
- Since light coconut milk has a higher fat content than low fat cows milk, I suspect you could reduce the amount of coconut oil to 1/4 cup. Remember, though, waffles need enough fat or they won’t get crispy (source: On Food and Cooking
). Nobody likes a soggy waffle!
25 Comments
What a great waffle flavor! They look perfect!
I love waffles but I haven’t had one in ages. Adding coconut to them makes them sound even better.
Ohhhhh looks like a fabulous recipe! I have never thought to try coconut oil in a waffle batter! This is going in the must try folder! “A Homemade Life”…what a book! Have you tried the Winning Hearts and Minds Cake?!
No, I haven’t tried the Winning Hearts and Minds Cake yet but it sounds amazing! I love the little powdered sugar heart you put next to yours.
Oh dear I do love waffles. Never tried one with coconut milk but I think it seems like a great idea. Glad you found the crispy waffle you were looking for.
These look divine! I’m with you on the coconut milk. I made my pumpkin pie with it this year. Yum!
These look fabulous. I will be adding these to my “to make” list for sure!
now I am craving waffles is it ok to make them for dinner haha of course it is LOL
they look great!!!
I never make waffles for that exact reason! They have to be crispy, otherwise I’ll just make pancakes! Thanks so much for posting these, they sound delicious! I’m so getting my waffle making on soon : )
You’re welcome, Jacqui! I’m so glad I found the King Arthur waffle recipe. I’m sure the waffles are just as crispy made with regular milk and oil if you’re not in the mood for coconut. Enjoy!
YUM. Great call on the coconut milk, and I bet these taste awesome paired with the cranberry sauce!
These waffles sound so awesome! I love how you made them coconut! Also, I would have never though to put cranberry sauce on waffles – great idea!
Those look absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try out this recipe! Thank you for sharing (:
http://www.sealedwithakay.com
oh my heavens…
You had me at “coconut waffles”, I’m filing this one away to try! :)
I’ll be over for breakfast tomorrow!!
I love how little sugar your cranberry sauce uses! I wish I could make these waffles, especially since they’re whole grain, but we don’t have a waffle iron. They’ll go on my list for the wonderful day we get a waffle maker! Your pictures are lovely. :)
Hey Erin, I hope you get a waffle iron soon! For Christmas, perhaps? I got lucky and inherited one from a friend. By the way, that cranberry sauce is great on lots of other things, too. Toast, oatmeal, and so forth.
Awesome is the word!!
oh goodness, these sound wonderful! Just bookmarked!
Drooool! These look amazing!
Just made these for dinner, since I had the ingredients and was looking for something uncomplicated. These were awesome! I didn’t make the cranberry topping, so I just put on a little butter and drizzled some agave syrup. Next time I’ll put some chocolate chips in for the kiddos for a fun breakfast.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the coconut waffles! Chocolate chips sound like a terrific addition, I will have to try that next time, too!
Try using coconut flour or almond flour instead of whole wheat…. that makes some REALLY FANTASTIC, and not to mention gluten free, waffles! :)
Great suggestions, thanks Carli!
6 Trackbacks
[...] mornings making myself a good breakfast. Sometimes I want a quick, savory meal instead of sweet waffles [...]
[...] Cranberry Sauce Recipe Adapted from Green Market Baking Book‘s recipe for Blueberry Ginger Syrup (seen on these blueberry waffles and these coconut cranberry waffles) [...]
[...] This makes a tart, honey-sweetened rhubarb sauce. You can also trade berries for the rhubarb; a sweet berry sauce would probably go nicely with these crepes. See my blueberry sauce variation here and cranberry sauce here. [...]
[...] Coconut Waffles from Cookie and Kate [...]
[...] you’re a coconut lover like myself, double the coconut by drizzling it onto coconut pancakes, coconut waffles or banana coconut [...]
[...] {whole wheat coconut waffles // baked polenta with tomato basil sauce} [...]