Whole Wheat Date-Sweetened Belgian Waffles

Well, I don’t yet have a gourmet kitchen, but I fantasize about having one.  And even though I can’t quite afford the Wolf range and the marble counte-tops that I drool over on Pinterest, I am doing what I can right now – stockpiling all the fun gadgets I’ll need to outfit this fantasy kitchen that I plan to have some day.  So every birthday and every Christmas, I make a wishlist that includes cookbooks, appliances, and serveware that I plan to put to good use … someday.  I have the tools to make whatever I want.  Now I just need the time.

This year, Santa brought one of my kitchen wish-list items, a Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker!  Why do I need a Belgian waffle maker?  I don’t know.  I just do.  I want to be fully capable, and a kitchen without a waffle maker does not sound like a fully capable kitchen to me.  And it’s not just to make traditional waffles!  What if you want to make those trendy tater-tot waffles?  Gotta have a waffle maker, friend.

So let’s get back to the elephant in the room.  Waffles aren’t exactly healthy, are they?  Ok, so… no.  But the way I see it, there are two ways around this problem.  There are long run days… which can culminate in a waffle brunch.  And there are healthier waffles.  As in, waffles that aren’t just desserts pretending to be breakfast.  And that’s what I chose today.  I took a classic, basic waffle recipe, and I made a few minor tweaks, and the result was, I think, not only delicious, but also innocent enough to eat on a normal day.

You may recall (because I’ve been harping on it since it’s not exactly easy for me) that I’ve been working hard to cut back on sugar.  Ever since my month without added sugars, I’ve been trying to avoid a relapse into my old evil ways by at least limiting how much sugar I’m consuming, and that was the inspiration behind the recipe adjustments I made here.  Instead of using cane sugar, I sweetened them with a tiny bit of date sugar, just enough to feed the yeast in the dough, but not enough to make the waffles sweet in their own right.  A little bit of maple syrup and some fruit are more than enough to make the finished product sweet (especially to someone who’s been depriving themselves of sugar).

All this begs the question, “What the eff is date sugar?”  It doesn’t exactly jump out at you from the shelves of the supermarket.  It’s sitting there on the bottom shelf in a tiny little package, just screaming, “I’m in a tiny bag because you really shouldn’t eat a lot of sugar anyways, jerk.”  Date sugar is just pulverized dehydrated dates.  That’s it.  So… fruit, I guess?  If you’re interested, and if you trust the internet, as I always recommend one does, date sugar seems to have a slight health edge over refined white sugar, although yes, blah blah blah, it’s not perfect either.  I know, sugar’s the worst, whatever.

Making waffles was WAY easier than I anticipated.  It seems like it would be a huge ordeal, but it turns out, as with many things in life, it’s one of those cases where having the right equipment makes all the difference.  My new waffle maker was ready to go right out of the package.  Odds are that I was supposed to wash it before I used it, but it looked clean so… Yeah.  Anyways, like I said, it was ready to use right out of the package.

I poured the batter into the waffle maker, spread it out with a rubber spatula, closed, sealed, flipped, and waited for the indicator light to tell me I was done.  No brain power involved.  And when it was time to remove, the non-stick surface kindly relinquished my waffle without a struggle.  Yes, yes, I believe this could be duplicated.  I loved mine with fresh strawberries and a little bit of maple syrup, but you could use whatever you want.  Maybe some jam, or honey, maybe a side of bacon?

I act as if these waffles are health food now, and let’s be honest, they’re still a treat.  They’re just calories though, and we’ll use them as fuel for our next big endeavor, whatever that may be.  In my case, I’m treating my waffle as fuel for my increasing weekly mileage in preparation for my next half marathon.  Sometimes you need carbs.  And waffles are there for you.

[lt_recipe name=”Whole Wheat Date-Sweetened Belgian Waffles” servings=”5 Waffles” prep_time=”1H” cook_time=”10M” total_time=”1H 10M” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”A healthy alternative to its more indulgent cousin, the restaurant style Belgian waffle, this treat feels like a brunch party while providing awesome fuel for your next run.” print=”yes” image=”http://www.eighteenalmonds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/IMG_9736-001-150×150.jpg” ingredients=”3/4 c. water;1 tsp. active dry yeast;1 c. all purpose flour;1/2 c. 100% whole wheat flour;pinch of salt;2 eggs;2 1/2 tbsp date sugar;3/4 c. whole milk;4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted;1 tsp. Canola oil;1 tsp. pure vanilla extract;Maple syrup ” ]Heat the water in the microwave for 30 seconds until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the water with a pinch of the date sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes.;Put the flour and salt into a medium bowl and stir to blend.;In a separate large bowl, combine eggs, remaining date sugar, milk, butter, oil, vanilla, and yeast mixture. Stir until smooth.;Add the flour to the liquid mixture and beat until smooth.;Let the batter stand for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.;Preheat your waffle maker, following the instructions that come with your machine. When the machine is ready, measure 3/4 c. of batter into the waffle maker and follow the instructions for cooking them. (Mine requires me to close the lid, rotate the handle, then has an indicator light that tells me when they are done.) ;Serve warm, or freeze sections and reheat in a toaster oven. I recommend some maple syrup and fresh fruit as toppings, but feel free to be creative![/lt_recipe]