Eggless pumpkin liege waffles

I’ve had a longtime obsession with Belgian liege waffles. They have the most incredible texture. They’re crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with a delightful crunch from the pearl sugar.

I’ve tried to make liege waffles before but with limited success. Last time, my dough just didn’t rise and I ended up with dense, tough waffles instead fluffy, soft ones. This time, I adapted McKenzie Sue’s recipe from A Bountiful Kitchen, and it worked wonderfully.

Liege waffles are usually made with eggs, but since I was craving something with pumpkin and since I’ve often successfully used pumpkin + baking powder as an egg substitute in cake, I tried it here. I also subbed cinnamon and nutmeg for the vanilla and halved the recipe.

I was so thrilled with the results and am excited to share them with you! Note: This version makes about 6 waffles, and a serving size is probably 1-2 waffles, depending on how hungry you are.

These are plenty sweet on their own, but if you wanted to add a little something extra, you could try topping them with Nutella and fruit, as they often do in Belgium. Cuddle up with these and a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea and have the perfect fall morning.

Ingredients

• 3/8 cup warm milk
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons melted butter or vegan unsalted butter (I prefer Miyoko’s sticks)
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup Belgian pearl sugar
• Cooking spray
• Optional: powdered sugar, fruit, or Nutella for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large microwave safe mixing bowl, warm your milk for 30 seconds in the microwave and whisk in sugar and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes. Yeast should start foaming.
3. Add pumpkin purée, baking powder, and melted butter. Whisk until combined.
4. Add flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix together with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
5. Turn the oven off. Cover the bowl and place it in the oven for 30 minutes. 20 minutes in, preheat your waffle iron.
6. Remove dough from oven and shape into 6 even balls. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray (I used canola oil) and place 1 mound of dough in the middle of the heated waffle iron. Cook until the outside is crispy and the inside is cooked. It took me 3-4 minutes per waffle, but it may depend on your waffle iron and heat settings.
7. Repeat with remaining balls of dough and serve warm.