Waffles go back to ancient Greece, Medieval France and are mentioned in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (14th century) as a tool for courtship…”He sent her sweetened wine and well-spiced ale/ And waffles piping hot out of the fire.” What a guy!
Waffles were first introduced to North America in 1620 by Pilgrims from Holland. Thomas Jefferson brought a waffle iron from France, and waffle parties became popular in the late 18th century. Americans got their first taste of Belgian waffles — which are leavened with yeast and egg whites — at the 1964 World’s Fair. My husband remembers that as if it were yesterday because that is where he fell in love with waffles.
When we went grain-free it became a challenge to come up with a suitable waffle recipe — one that was light and tasty. We found that nut flours made the batter too heavy so we started experimenting with coconut flour. This recipe is a winner: light and sweet, it is good as a breakfast or dessert depending on what topping you choose.
Ingredients
4 large eggs separated (pastured if possible)
1 1/4 ripe medium banana mashed (or one large banana)
2 heaping tablespoon applesauce
2 Tablespoon raw honey (where to buy raw honey)
2 teaspoon vanilla (where to buy vanilla)
1/2 cup coconut flour (where to buy coconut flour)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (where to buy sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Separate the eggs
- Whip up the whites with an electric hand mixer
- Add the honey, vanilla and mashed banana to the egg yolks and mix by hand
- Add baking soda and salt to the coconut flour and mix
- Add the dry mixture to the wet and blend together
- If the dry mixture is very thick add water (up to 1/2 cup), a little more banana or more apple sauce
- Fold in the whites being careful not to over mix
- The batter should be loose
- Using a large serving spoon, add the batter to the preheated and oiled waffle iron
- Remove when indicated by the waffle iron
- These are not really crisp but satisfying none the less
Toppings
- Honey
- Ghee or butter
- Maple syrup
- Yogurt
- Fruit, etc.