Gingerbread Waffles

If you love gingerbread men..... If you love waffles...…. If you love all the things you must try these gingerbread waffles!!!

I have been making these waffles for years and honestly I love them so much because they have this beautiful spice to them and I just can't explain how delicious they are and how good they smell!!

These are so easy and you can make them on the day or even freeze them and re-heat them in the oven and/ or toaster (you can have delicious homemade toaster waffles whenever you want!!)

This makes about 18 square waffles so get yourself ready!!!

- 2 Cup plain flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp bi-carbonate soda

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 2 tsp ground ginger

- 1/2 tsp ground cloves

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 4 eggs (room temp, separated, yolks and whites in separate bowls)

- 2 Cups buttermilk

- 2-4 tsp vanilla extract (i would go for 4 but 2 is the base amount)

- 1/3 Cup Treacle or molasses (if you cannot get either you can use golden syrup)

- 1/3 Cup Brown sugar

- 1/2 cup canola (flavourless) oil

- 1 tsp lemon zest

**Optional** what ever you like to top your waffles with!!!

- Fresh fruit

- Maple syrup

- Icing sugar

- Waffle Maker

- Whisk

- Mixing Bowl

- Wire cooling rack

- Electric mixer

- Spatula / scraper

Ok so first we have to make the batter!! So take your flour, baking powder, bi-carb soda and all your spices and whisk them together to make your dry mix. You can also sift this together, but using a whisk is easier and less messy than sifting everything, It still gives a smooth, lump- free mixture. Place this aside.

Take your room temperature egg whites and beat them with your electric beaters until you get stiff peaks. This should take 5-7 minutes, you are looking for the egg whites to hold their shape.

Ensure to have a clean bowl and electric beaters, free from oil, fat or water as this can affect the egg whites from forming peaks.

Take the same beaters that you whipped your egg whites with and in a separate bowl beat together the egg yolks, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, lemon zest, oil and buttermilk and beat until everything is well incorporated, remember to scrape down the sides with a spatula so it is all combined properly.

In a large mixing bowl place the flour-spice mix and mix out a well in the middle, this is a vital step because when you add the liquid mixes it helps prevent lumps.

Place the main liquid mixture in the well of the mixture and with your electric beaters combine them together, keep the beaters in the centre of the bowl and slowly mix to the outer of the bowl, this slowly adds the flour mixture to the liquid, preventing lumps.

Once you have done this, with your spatula slowly fold in your whipped egg whites, encircle the egg whites from underneath and bring it over the top, continue this motion until it is all combined.

Now this is a bit hard for me to give exact advice on, as like human, waffle makers are all made and work differently. My waffle maker takes about 5 minutes to heat up and can take between 4-6 minutes to cook these waffles. Mine also is non-stick (if yours is not, spray your maker with non-stick cooking spray). The best way to cook these is to follow your instructions.

Also the 1st waffle is always a test, much like pancakes, time them and try to find out what works best for your waffles.

Another note is to try and not overfill your waffle maker as this can overflow and become very messy. Your waffle maker instructions should tell you how much batter to use and how long to cook it.

Now this is where you can get creative. I love serving this with fresh berries, icing sugar and maple syrup, but of course you can have it with ice cream or anything you want. It is up to you!!

I really like having these plain because it has a beautiful flavour on its own!!

If you have left over waffles, you can place these in the freezer and then can take them out and place them in the toaster to re-heat them and crisp them up. You can have them anytime, with very little mess!!!!