Pumpkin Pie Waffles

To kick off Thanksgiving week, Neko and I made these on Sunday morning. They were inspired by a recipe for pumpkin pie pancakes sent to my by my Auntie Daria. I changed the ingredients a bit because we are trying to cut down on refined sugars/flours around these parts. I am certain these would be better with sugar and white flour BUT they were also very, very delicious without them! I also added some buttermilk on a whim because I had it in the fridge from a previous recipe and, well, its hard to use up buttermilk.

Pumpkin Pie Waffles
(serves 4)

1 cup whole wheat flour (could use unbleached all-purpose)
3/4 c. pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 Tbsp agave nectar (could also use 2 Tbsp sugar or 3 Tbsp maple syrup)
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs, separated
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp. canola oil

1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, agave nectar, buttermilk, milk, egg yolk and canola oil.
3. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
4. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold gently into batter.
4. Pour 1/2 c. batter onto greased and preheated waffle iron. Cook until no longer steaming. Serve!

Auntie Dee put toasted pecans on hers (yum!!!). I topped ours with a little maple syrup, whipped cream and a sprinkle of the pumpkin pie spice. I made Neko's even more toddler appealing...