Banana Cinnamon Waffles

Banana Cinnamon Waffles

Instead of making a pile of pancakes for us to eat throughout the week, I decided to make waffles. The recipe I normally use for both pancakes and waffles is great but I felt like finding something new or at least changing it up a little this week.

There is a lot of inspiration out there. I tend to start with the word "healthy" when searching for recipes on the internet. This usually gives me options most in line with how I like to cook. It mostly translates into using less oil, cream and sugar or adding fruit, veggies or flax to punch up the overall nutrition of something. For example, pasta sauce. I made a recipe that called for 1/4 cup olive oil once as is and once with two tablespoons of olive oil instead. The sauce tasted the same. Don't get me wrong, olive oil isn't bad but I like to reduce things like oil, butter and sugar where I can. However, I'm not one to replace ALL the oil or butter a recipe calls for with applesauce or yogurt. I've tried it and it just doesn't cut it. On the other hand, replacing sugar with honey or maple syrup has been successful in many things I've made. Also, it's common for waffle and pancake recipes to call for some sugar and oil in the batter. I've had no problems skipping both likely because it's usually only 1 to 3 tablespoons respectively. For me, the fun is in the experimenting. I always learn something new.

These waffles are perfect to eat right away or freeze for later. Serve with maple syrup and butter or your favorite toppings. I had maple syrup and chopped pecans on mine. Yum.


Banana Cinnamon Waffles
Makes 8 to 10 waffles
Adapted from here.

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk*
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large ripe banana, mashed
Cooking spray

Directions

Combine flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a fork or whisk.

Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla, stirring with a whisk; add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until blended. Fold in mashed banana.

Preheat a waffle iron. Coat iron with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per waffle onto hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter.**


*I haven't tried it with regular milk or non dairy milk but it works. Reduce the amount of milk to 1 1/2 cups when not using buttermilk. I have made this swap in other recipes but will be testing it in this recipe soon. If you beat me to it, let me know how it turns out.

**I have a waffle iron that beeps when the waffles are ready. I set it to the highest (7) setting to ensure some crispiness on the outside.