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Pumpkin Spice Waffles with Maple Cashew Sauce

It’s fall! It’s fall! It’s fall!

Well, at least it should be fall. Here in Southern California, it’s still 90º almost every day. Fall doesn’t hit us until mid-November, and turns into winter by December 1st. But those two weeks of fall… they are glorious. (why do I live in Southern California again?)

Pumpkin_Waffle_Can

Nothing says fall like canned pumpkin. This time of year, you can find at least 270,000 great uses for canned pumpkin, and these spiced waffles are at the very top of that list. They are perfect for a lazy weekend brunch that the whole family can enjoy by the fireplace air conditioner (I hate you, California).

The waffles themselves are great, but what takes them to a whole other level is the maple cashew sauce. It is cashew cream infused with maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice. You’ll never be able to use plain ol’ maple syrup again.

Pumpkin_Waffle

Makes 4-5 waffles

Waffle Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/4 cups non-dairy milk
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Pumpkin_Waffle_Square

Step One

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk (soy works well) with the apple cider vinegar and set aside for several minutes to create “buttermilk.” Meanwhile, sift all the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, spice, baking powder, salt) together in a separate mixing bowl.

Step Two

Add the remaining wet ingredients (canned pumpkin and coconut oil) to the buttermilk and whisk until no large clumps of pumpkin remain. Then, slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet.

Step Three

Spoon a portion of the batter onto a hot waffle iron and cook according to your waffle iron’s instructions, until just crispy on the outside.

When the waffles are done, don’t even think about reaching for the boring maple syrup. What these guys need is some spiced maple cashew sauce…

Pumpkin_Waffle_Pour

Spiced Maple Cashew Sauce

The waffles are delicious, but wretchedly incomplete without this amazing sauce. It’s like a buttery cashew cream, but with the sweetness and classic taste of maple syrup all blended into one decadent sauce. It’s rich, creamy, sweet, and so easy to make:

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup cashews, soaked
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • water, as needed

Soak the cashews ahead of time (at least one hour) to soften them up. Then combine all ingredients in a blender with 1/4 cup water to start. Blend until fully puréed and give the sauce a taste. Adjust any ingredients as necessary or add more water to loosen it up (so it can be poured like syrup).

Excuse me, I’m going to eat this waffle now…

Pumpkin_Waffle_Bite

16 Comments

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  1. These look so great that I wish we had canned pumpkin over here. I probably live in one of the few places where it’s not available. I should get around to making it myself just so I can make these waffles!

      • Istanbul, Turkey. Definitely not the best place for a vegan. I usually end up making most things from scratch which brings about a lot of kitchen experiments/disasters. 😛

  2. yum!! i love pumpkin sooo much! if i made the full batch of batter, do you think it would keep a couple of days (if I made one waffle a day)?

    • Hi Marlies! I would suspect the batter would be fine for several days, in fact the gluten in wheat becomes much better after refrigerating. I think 2-3 days would be just fine!

    • You could also make the entire batch up and refrigerate the rest of the waffles. Just pop them in the toaster when you are ready to eat. That’s what I have done since the time my children were small. 🙂 I have had trouble making pancakes and waffles from batter I have kept in the fridge because sometimes the baking powder doesn’t seem to continue working but I’m not sure it is always a problem. Just my thoughts!

      • Yes, just listen to what Anne said. She’s right on both points. Baking powder leavens the batter immediately by adding air, and after sitting for a while, it will lose its power. Also, I have refrigerated these waffles and toasted them with perfect results. Thanks for saying what I should have said, Anne! 🙂

  3. Andrew, these look amazing! It’s definitely time for something like this in the Pacific Northwest! I’m thinking breakfast tomorrow! (or supper tonight …why not?) 🙂 Thanks for another inspiring recipe! Have a fantastic day!

    • I can’t tell you how I know this, Cresta, but these waffles make an excellent dinner 🙂 Thanks for the comment and I hope you have a fantastic day too!

  4. As sad as it is to say, these turned out terrible. The batter was so gummy it stuck to the waffle iron, and was not only disgustingly sticky and tacky on the inside, but turned out the same way even after trying to modify it for pancakes.

    The consistency was also horribly sticky for even pancakes…unfortunately, this recipe was not only a waste of time trying to make, but also a big waste of money I really couldn’t afford to just dump down the drain after discovering it was a complete failure.

    Hopefully some of your other recipes will prove to be better than this one…

    • I am so sorry to hear that, Michelle. I take great care to make sure my recipes work out well and I hate to hear that there was a problem.

      A gummy, sticky, glue-like consistency is one of the biggest problems when baking with wheat. The gluten is like glue (hence the name) and if it isn’t treated just right, it becomes very gluey and tough. I have found this problem to be further compounded in vegan (egg-free) baking.

      One of primary causes for this is over mixing the batter, the more the gluten is “stressed” by mixing, the more it becomes sticky. Another is not having a hot enough pan or waffle iron. There’s a great tutorial on how to avoid some of these problems at: http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/05/secrets-to-perfect-pancakes/

      Again, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out and I feel terrible about that 🙁

  5. These waffles were so delicious. We made breakfast for dinner last night, the waffles along with the cashew syrup were a smash hit. My nieces and nephew made waffles from a mix and they cook up much faster however the taste and nutrition did not compare to these yummy pumpkin waffles. Tomorrow it will be your Dal Bhat recipe…can’t wait!

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