Carrot Cake Waffles

I love finding new recipes on Pinterest, but the best part is that moment when I actually get the chance to try them out. My family loves waffles, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, etc. and we enjoy doing "breakfast for dinner" once or twice a month so when I saw this recipe on Pinterest for Carrot cake waffles a few weeks back I just had to repin it. I am so glad I did because this recipe is truly a keeper. It's delicious and fairly healthy. I made a few modifications and then topped them with maple syrup and spiced cream cheese whip.
They were wonderful and I think they would taste great with a GF flour as well. (If any of my GF friends get a chance to try them out before I do, let me know how they turned out.)

Enjoying my last few bites

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup old fashion rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk or buttermilk substitute (1 2/3 cups milk + 3 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 1/2 cups milk + 1/4 cup sour cream/plain yogurt)
• 2 eggs, separated
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins (I used craisins and they tasted amazing)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional, our family prefers them as a topping and not in the batter)
• 2 cups finely grated carrots
• Cooking spray for waffle iron

Directions

1. Bloom the spices in butter*: Heat 4 tablespoons butter in skillet for 1-2 minutes over medium heat until melted. Continue to cook for 2-4 minutes, swirling pan often, until butter is light brown and has faint nutty aroma. Add spices and continue to cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, about 20-30 minutes.
2. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda.
3. Mix together the buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) and the egg yolks. Stir in the spiced butter and vanilla. Spray the waffle iron well and preheat it. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients. Add carrots and raisins. Stir gently to combine.
4. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl with a whisk or electric mixer (make sure bowl and mixer are spotlessly clean) until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the batter. 
5. Spread a ladleful of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. Spray iron with cooking spray between waffles as needed.
6. Serve waffles immediately with maple syrup, a dollup of spiced cream cheese whip, and the chopped walnuts (yes, you could put them directly into the batter but my family doesn't like it that way). If you're not going to eat them right away, keep them warm for a few minutes in a low oven or freeze them for another meal.**

Notes from the original recipe:

Carrot cake waffle induced happiness

*If you prefer a quicker breakfast, you can melt and cool the butter plain instead of browning it and blooming the spices in it — but doing so does add flavor. If you do skip the spice blooming, simply add the spices to the dry ingredients in step 2. Add your plain melted, cooled butter instead of the spiced butter in step 3.
**Waffles freeze really well. So make up a big batch, let them cool, freeze on a baking sheet, and move to ziplock bags for a homemade alternative to commercial frozen waffles.

I also love these Sweet Potato Waffles by Alton Brown.