Pumpkin Waffles - Oh My!

So this was so much fun today. I want to remind you, that I rarely come up with anything original, I get my recipes from books or other websites. This one I got from The Girl Who Ate Everything - check out her site for the original recipe (not sure I'm allowed to copy from her website even if I give her the credit...so to be on the safe side you can find it there yourself) - she even includes homemade syrup (sadly I have no time for that..I have to homeschool 3 elementary superheroes). Her photography is amazing. I might add that my photography is done by me, with my cell phone. That should give you a chuckle!

I will give you photo instructions and let you know what I did wrong differently. Did I mention this was FUN!?

I love getting my ingredients all out and ready to go...the term we use is mise en place (french term for "set in place.") It helps a scattered Mom like me. You know in case the phone rings, the dog is in the garbage and the kids are fighting - that never happens here.

Ok - (Just noticed that my capital O only works with the caps lock on--great)..I love whenever I can use the whole egg. I despise having to throw away my yokes. So fortunately this recipe calls for 4 egg whites and 4 egg yolks. That made me smile!

Just wanted to put a plug in here for my girl (The Kitchen Aid)..while I was getting all of the dry ingredients together, she was working hard forming stiff peaks with the egg whites! Love her!

Now about the butter. I've said it before, I'm not a professional anything...I know when I bake my rule is to always use unsalted butter because most recipes call to add salt. This recipe only called for 1/4 teaspoon so I used one stick of salted butter and half of a stick of unsalted. (My little adaptation).

Confession - I've never ever used a waffle iron before. The batter, after folding in the egg whites ends up being very fluffy...almost mousse like. I wasn't quite sure how this was going to go with the iron.

I chose this picture because my first attempt at getting that waffle out of the iron was...how shall I say this...a massacre. Oh I used plenty of Pam, it wasn't sticking, I just couldn't figure how to get them out because they were totally hot and not extremely crunchy like when you pull items from the toaster. So we taste tested the ugly waffle and it was....

(gone in two seconds) seriously one of the best waffles I have ever tasted in my whole life. Perfect pumpkin flavor - not too much -  not too little. Four forks devoured our first "test" waffle and then my superheroes were like putty in my hands..waiting anxiously for their waffle to be placed with love on their plate,

Brendan was first, because he is most polite and patient! He knows what he is doing!!

After making a few, I got the hang of this waffle iron. I appreciate my friend who let me borrow this for today!

Kyle was next. Just want to put a plug in here for Autism Spectrum Disorder. You know my Kyle was diagnosed with this many years ago, he has come a long way, but he still has issues that we have learned to love him through. See below...he couldn't bring himself to touch the fork because I touched it, and my hands had Pam or butter on them..made the fork greasy. Don't you love it? No, I did not give him a  new fork..I said I love him through his challenges, but we don't cater to them. I love this boy!

Then there is my third superhero..Shane. He is the one who could have eaten 2 whole waffles I think. He just has that much energy. (He was served last because he had the largest "testing taste" of everyone else.) No problem there, he also finished before Kyle was done!

The recipe said it would make 8 Belgium waffles. I used 1 measured cup and poured in into the iron. The result was 5 and a half...but it is really a cute half! I did invite the owner of the iron and her son to join us today, but I'm thinking they chose to stay in their jammies instead. They know me...I'll be doing this again...

I am going to freeze the two waffles I have left over so Mr. Incredible can try one for tomorrow for breakfast (or tonight for a snack). Hey, I'm really glad you stopped by the kitchen this morning! Up next...Coffee Spice Cookies...I'm making them today.