Allergen-free* waffles

* If you use the flax "eggs" as described below, and rice- or almond milk, these can be gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free * If you are allergic to corn, then I'm sorry; this is not the mix for you!



My little guy loves waffles. He asks for one almost every morning. So when we got back from Alexandria and I hadn't gone shopping yet, we nearly had a toddler meltdown on our hands. Lucky for him (you know, since he didn't have to get a time-out for having a tantrum) I was able to whip up this semi-homemade version in just a few minutes.



Starting with Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pancake mix, I stirred in half a container of apple-carrot-sweet potato baby food, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. I also took a chance and added a second egg (the directions call for one) since I thought I remembered reading something like that on the package of Krusteaz pancake/waffle mix once. With a bit of milk and some canola oil, these were ready to be griddled.



I didn't know how they'd turn out, so I halved the recipe that is printed on the the package. Happy to report they were fantastic! No funky GF aftertaste or texture, with a nice wintery spice flavor from the nutmeg. The baby food puree is undetectable, but I feel like it gives us a little boost of orange-veggie intake that we may not have otherwise had.

These turned out so well, the little guy requested them again the next day. Alas, I'd used the last two eggs on the first (half) batch! Then I remembered that Bob's Red Mill pizza crust mix has an egg-free alternative suggestion: * mix together 1 Tbsp flax meal with 3 Tbsp cold water for each egg called for. Let this mixture sit for a few minutes, then use in place of the egg(s). That is exactly what I did, making enough flax-equivalent to replace the two eggs I didn't have.



The flax batch--the ones pictured--came out a little crispier than the ones I made the first time. I'm not sure if that's from the flax, or if I was slower taking them out of the waffle iron. They also stuck to the iron more than the eggy version, even after a spritz of nonstick cooking spray. Just be aware of this if you decide to make them. The original recipe, as printed on the back of the package, is as follows:

Gluten-Free Pancakes
from Bob's Red Mill
makes ~10 single waffles

1 1/2 cups gluten-free pancake mix mix
1 egg* (or flax "egg" - 1Tbsp ground flax + 3Tbsp water)
3/4 cup milk* (cow, almond, rice, etc.)
1 Tbsp oil

We made these again for Christmas morning, a full batch this time, with one egg and one flax "egg", and added cinnamon, nutmeg, and a full "Stage 2" container of apple-carrot-sweet potato baby food. I called them Gingerbread Waffles, and my in-laws gobbled them up.



Oh, and just so you really think we're cuckoo, I feel obligated to tell you that we made them again for breakfast today. Yeah, that's about 4 times in less than two weeks. They're GOOD!