Liege Waffles

I think surfing the internet and reading recipe blogs and websites whilst hungry has to be akin to shopping whilst hungry – a really bad idea if you’re on a diet! Which I’m not but anyway…  It was on one of my recent foodie surfs that I came across this recipe for Liege sugar waffles and was smitten by the photographs and just had to make them. I also saw the recipe reviewed here and here. 

I don’t have Belgian pearl sugar nor am I likely to find this ingredient here in Riyadh and I was not prepared to wait until such a time as I do have the pearl sugar just for authenticity – I wanted to crack on and try making these waffles.  Instead I took the tip from the squidoo website and used a meat mallett to break some sugar cubes up roughly.

The waffles were surprisingly easy to make with good results. There is not much to do really – a quick bit of mixing and then you leave the mixture to double before mixing in the pearl sugar (or mashed sugar lumps), leave to rest a little longer whilst heating up the waffle iron and then start cooking. I made exactly ten as stated in the original recipe and will definitely double up on this recipe next time given how quickly my troop managed to guzzle up these waffles. If I make a batch of twenty, one or two might make it to the freezer for when the midnight munchies strike! I’ve made regular waffles before but they were just not a patch on this Liege variety!

My only problem was deciding what to put on the waffles… In the end I went for the maple syrup, the kids opted for honey or good old Nutella.

Recipe (almost) Verbatim from Squidoo - all comments in parentheses are from the original poster of the recipe and are not my own.

1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1/3 cup lukewarm water (about 105 degF – too hot will kill the yeast)

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

3 eggs

1 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1 cup pearl sugar

Mix the yeast, water and sugar in a bowl and let it develop or sit for 15 minutes.

Yeast, sugar and water

Yeast mixture after 15 minutes

Place the flour and salt in a separate large mixing bowl (we use the bowl of our kitchen aid stand mixer) and make a well in the center of the flour.

Pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix until blended on medium speed (we use the paddle in our kitchen aid mixer).

Add the eggs (one at a time), melted butter a bit at a time, and the vanilla and cinnamon. Be sure to mix well after each addition to the batter. Keep in mind the batter will be thick and very sticky (this is normal).

Remove the bowl from the mixer and let the dough rest until it doubles in volume inside the bowl.

Gently fold in the pearl sugar and let the dough rest for 15 more minutes.

While the dough is resting, heat the waffle iron.

Spoon about a 2″ ball of dough into the center of the waffle iron (this should yield a waffle that is about 4″ in diameter). I know that sounds small, but these rich waffles pack quite a punch. Waffles will take 3 to 5 minutes to bake.

Recipe makes 8 – 10 waffles.