While we love a plain waffle, with its crisp exterior and custardy interior, it didn’t take much arm twisting to convince tasters to try a pumpkin version, with its sunset-orange color and aroma of autumn spices. Canned pumpkin puree proved a delicious way to bring nutrients such as vitamin A, fiber, and iron into our morning baking, along with a sweet, earthy flavor. However, pumpkin also brings moisture, which initially thwarted our efforts to get a crispy edge. Blotting the puree with paper towels helped eliminate excess moisture, producing a thick, not overly wet batter that crisped up while retaining the waffles’ custardy center. Low-fat yogurt helped make our batter extra thick and provided richness and tang. Taking a cue from our Blueberry Oat Pancakes, we traded out most of the all-purpose flour for mild tasting whole-grain oat flour. A touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and fresh ginger rounded out the flavor. We prefer using store-bought oat flour, as it has a very fine grind and creates the best waffles, but you can make your own in a pinch. Grind 2½ cups (7½ ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats in a food processor to a fine meal, about 2 minutes; note waffles will be denser if using ground oats. Do not use toasted oat flour in this recipe. Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (7½ ounces) oat flour
- ½ cup (2½ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1¼ cups organic plain low-fat yogurt
- 2 large organic eggs
- ¼ cup expeller-pressed canola oil
- ¼ cup (1¾ ounces) sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees.
- Whisk oat flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom together in large bowl.
- Line rimmed baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels. Spread pumpkin on paper towels in even layer. Cover pumpkin with second triple layer of paper towels and press firmly until paper towels are saturated. Peel back top layer of towels and discard. Grasp bottom towels and fold pumpkin in half; peel back towels. Transfer pumpkin to separate bowl and discard towels. Whisk in yogurt, eggs, oil, sugar, and ginger until combined. Whisk pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until well combined and smooth. Set wire rack in now-empty baking sheet and place in oven.
- Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions and brush well with additional oil. Add scant 1 cup batter to waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions until each waffle is deep golden and has crisp, firm exterior. Serve immediately or transfer to wire rack in oven. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing waffle iron with additional oil.