Harvest Apple Cider Glazed Waffles

Apple Fritters are just one of the best donuts, wouldn’t you agree?!  All those chunks of apples, giving the gnarly free form fried donuts the perfect craggy surface is the best!  And that craggy outside gives the glaze all sorts of nooks and crannies to settle in.

I’m not always up for making a batch of donuts (it’s really too dangerous, with just two of us to eat them!!) but I can take the same wonderful flavours and textures, and add them to a batch of weekend waffles.  With autumn here, we want to put apples in everything.  So why not a casual and relaxing weekend breakfast?  The mornings may have a chill to the air, there might be some fog hanging around, the leaves are starting their leisurely downward descend, and suddenly everything is apple spice and pumpkin latte.  These waffles are the perfect way to celebrate the best season of the year!

Really, this is such an easy way to use one or two apples from the haul that you picked up from the orchard.  Just a quick peel and chop, and you’ve got half the recipe completed.  Sautéing the apple pieces in butter and plenty of cozy spices creates the flavour profile for the waffles.  The batter comes together easily in a couple of bowls and a whisk.  Adding spelt gives the waffles an extra earthy flavour.  Letting the batter rest while the waffle iron heats up gives it a chance to settle and let the flour soak in the liquid, helping the glutens form and a better rise happen in the end.

Let’s talk about the Glaze. How to make the perfect glaze.  First of all, it’s just icing sugar and liquid.  The liquid can be water, lemon juice, milk, cider, maple syrup, orange juice, whatever flavour you want.  But you will never need a lot of any liquid, unless of course you need a lot of glaze. It’s really all about the finished effect you are looking for.  Do you want to see those tempting streaks of bright white glaze against the baked waffles?  Then make sure not to thin it out too much.  It should run really, really slowly off the spoon.  Manage the adding of the liquids slowly, or at least be prepared to add additional icing sugar to help thicken it.  On the other hand, do you want to see that classic thin glaze that covers the entire surface of a true apple fritter? Then keep it on the thinner side, and place it into a shallow bowl.  Take the finished warm waffles, and gently place one side directly into the glaze. Turn it over and let the glaze coat every part of the waffle, pouring a little more glaze with a spoon, into any surface that may not have gotten enough glaze.

Having said all of this, you can totally serve these waffles up with maple syrup, or warmed caramel sauce (see my Salted Bourbon Caramel Sauce for the only recipe you’ll ever need), or go wild, and a bit of all of the above!  I know, this is the crazy me speaking now!  But come on, deep down inside, you want me going there.  You need me going there!!

Any leftovers can be re-warmed in the oven, and glazed later if desired.  You can also eat these exactly as the donut they were inspired by, as a baked treat with a coffee any time you want.

Happy autumn weekend!

Love Jen

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Harvest Apple Cider Glazed Waffles

All the flavours of autumn in these apple fritter inspired waffles, right down to the glaze. It will be hard to save these just for breakfast!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword apples, cider, waffles

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup apple diced small
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp cloves

Waffles

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup spelt flour
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 extra large egg

Glaze

• 1/3 cup icing sugar
• 1 tbsp apple cider
• 1 tsp milk

Instructions

1. Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Once melted, add the diced apples and the spices . Stir and sauté the apples till fragrant and warmed through, softened but still somewhat firm, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and allspice.

3. In a medium bowl combine eggs, milk and oil. Whisk till well blended.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then fold in the apples until just combined. Do not overmix. Let the batter rest while you heat the waffle maker.

5. Spray waffle baker with non-stick spray.
6. Ladle batter onto waffle baker being careful not to over fill.
7. Bake the waffles as per your machine, and as browned as you like.

Glaze

1. Combine the icing sugar and milk. Add the apple cider 1 tsp at a time till smooth. You can make it runny for a thin glaze, or you can add more sugar and create a thicker, defined glaze.

2. Glaze the waffles as you serve them. Thick glaze can be drizzled on the warm waffles.

   For a thin, fritter like effect, place the thinner glaze into a shallow bowl and dip one side of the warm waffles completely into the glaze. Turn over and use a spoon to get the glaze into any nooks and crannies that didn't get glazed the first time. You may need to make more glaze for this effect.

Recipe Notes

I say this recipe serves 2.  But it may stretch to three if you are feeding little bellies.  If there is leftover batter, bake them up and freeze for a future treat.  Of course you can double the recipe to serve 4 comfortably.