Sweet and Savory Belgian Waffle Sandwiches

The following recipe and photography for this post were provided by local blogger Abby Thome of The Thome Home.

Once you try this recipe for scratch-made Belgian Waffles, you’ll wonder what took you so long! Thick, fluffy and rich — these waffles are a household staple that is not only simple to make, but they also freeze beautifully, which allows you to make a double or triple batch to stock your freezer.  Once frozen, simply warm in the toaster as you would with any other frozen waffle.

For years, this recipe has been a tried and true favorite, you can mix in chocolate chips, fresh fruit or even a vegetable purée, like what is shown in the Sweet Potato Belgian Waffle recipe below.

P.S. You will need a waffle maker for this recipe.

Plain Belgian Waffles:

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup cane sugar
• 6 eggs
• 3 cup buttermilk
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Add all of the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and melted butter.  Mix together thoroughly and let the batter sit for five minutes to activate the baking powder.
2. Heat the waffle maker.
3. Set cooling racks to the side, for easy placement of waffles to cool once cooked.
4. Spritz waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray once it is fully heated and ready to go.
5. Scoop batter into each compartment of the waffle maker, all waffle irons are different for the amount of batter and cooking time – please refer to your instruction pamphlet for tips.
6. Cook waffles all the way through and set aside on a cooling rack.
7. Continue to making waffles with the remainder of the batter.
8. Once waffles are fully cooled, place in a Ziploc freezer bag for storage.

Tip: Layer four waffles in a bag at a time with a square of parchment paper in between each layer.  This will ensure the waffles will not stick when frozen!

Once you get the hang of making waffles at home, you will be hooked! Doubling or tripling a batch is a fantastic way to stock your freezer and make your mornings a total breeze.

Now, let’s get creative!  There are endless ways you can use these Belgian Waffles – my kids love to cut them into strips and then dunk into maple syrup! A household hit is to turn these fluffy decadent waffles into different breakfast sandwiches!

Sweet and Savory Belgian Waffle Sandwiches

Strawberries and Cream

Ingredients:

• Strawberry Cream Cheese
• Fresh Strawberries

Instructions:

1. Layer Heinen’s Strawberry Cream Cheese on one side of the waffle.
2. On top of the cream cheese, place fresh strawberries and another waffle square.
3. Repeat this process so that you have two strawberries and cream waffles stacked on top of each other.

Note: Although this recipe calls for strawberry, there is a large variety of cream cheeses at Heinen’s, so run wild with your imagination and pick a flavor combination that you can’t resist!

Sweet Potato Waffle Monte Cristo

Ingredients:

• 3-4 sweet potatoes
• 2 Swiss cheese slices
• Raspberry jam
• Deli ham slices (the amount is up to serving size)

To make the Sweet Potato Purée:

1. Roast sweet potatoes in the oven.
2. Slice open the sweet potatoes and scoop out the filling.
3. Place filling in a food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Mix purée into the waffle batter until it is fully incorporated.

Instructions:

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm through deli ham with Swiss cheese slices on top.
2. Spread each side of the sweet potato waffle with raspberry jam.
3. Place the warm ham and cheese onto one of the waffles, and top with the other waffle with jam.

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