Happy Fall and Apple Pie Waffles

This morning I awakened to bright, golden sunlight and crisp, sweet smelling air. It just felt like fall outside. So it seemed like the perfect time to make a hot, delicious fall breakfast, which was a welcome respite from the cold yogurt and chia pudding that we have been consuming all summer. So what could be more reminiscent of fall that waffles with apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar? Nothing, that's what. So here are my easy-peasy Apple Pie Waffles:

First, core and slice two medium apples. Or one big one. Whatever you happen to have in your fridge. I can't even tell you what kind of apples I am using here because I just have a big miscellaneous apple pile in my crisper drawer. I use one of those corer/slicer tools to cut up the apple, and then peel and dice like this:

 Use a paring knife to cut the skin from each slice.

Put the slice core side down on the cutting board and cut it in half lengthwise.

Turn the now two slices on their flat side and slice in half lengthwise again.

Then cut the double-halved slices into little cubes. This is important. You want small, mostly uniform pieces because they will evenly distribute throughout the batter, and also because they will cook through better when they are in the waffle iron. If you like your apples crunchier, feel free to make bigger chunks. My taste testers just happen to prefer their apple pieces fully cooked, or, mushy.

Then make the batter! Start with the basic Bisquik waffle recipe. I have often thought about creating my own waffle recipe, but when this one is so simple and so adaptable, why would I bother? So I'm not going to make you bother either. Step 1: 2 cups of Bisquik and 1 1/3 cup milk. We are a whole milk house. But use whatever (lesser) kind of milk you like.

Then add 1 egg! Also, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. I didn't add a picture of that because it didn't show up very well, and also, I figured you probably know what vegetable oil looks like. So that's the basic Bisquik recipe. Now we are going to get a little crazy!

Add in a tablespoon of pure vanilla. NOT imitation. You shouldn't even have imitation vanilla in your house. They shouldn't even sell it in stores. Just, don't. Also, you can add less vanilla if you don't like it as much (or more, if you are even more wild for vanilla that I am).

Then add some ground cinnamon! Like, quite a bit of ground cinnamon actually. I don't measure, I just sprinkle it until it has made a thing filmy layer covering the entire bowl. It's probably like 1-2 tablespoons. Use your judgement. You can also add other spices like nutmeg, or clove, or just a pinch of salt if you like. But this is all I use.

Then I add 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar. You could use light brown, if that's what you're into. But I must strongly suggest that you do not use white sugar. Use the brown stuff. It's good for you.

Then mix it all together! I use my spoonula from Williams Sonoma, but you might prefer a whisk, or a wooden spoon, or whatever floats your boat. I'm just super in love with the spoonula.

Mix until it is nice and smooth. You will be able to smell it all now, and it will smell like apple pie. And you will debate whether it would be weird to lick waffle batter off a spoon. And decide it probably wouldn't be. Anyway.

Time to add the apples! Just dump 'em on in there!

Stir them in so they are well incorporated. It will be very chunky, but that's okay.

Time to cook the waffles! Get a waffle iron nice and hot. I just put mine to maximum heat and let it heat up for about ten minutes while I'm making the waffle batter. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter, and I usually end up putting somewhere between 1-3 scoops per waffle. I don't know why I do things this way, but it has just always seemed to work better using the smaller scoop. So, dump some waffle batter on your waffle iron.

And cook until it is brown! Then rinse and repeat until all the batter is used.

 While I am cooking the waffles, I also like to make bacon, because, well, what goes better with waffles than bacon? I use the thick cut, regular smoked bacon. I like the thicker pieces better. My friend Kalyn taught me to make bacon like this: lay pieces out on a cooling rack placed on top of a foil-covered baking sheet. Then cook in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes. All the fat collects on the foil, and you can just let it solidify and then throw the foil away! No draining needed. And the bacon turns out perfectly crispy and delicious.

And here is the finished product! Delicious waffles and bacon! It may seem like a lot of steps, but it is actually very fast and easy. What I normally do is cook the first few waffles all the way to well done and those are the ones we eat. And then all the ones after that, I cook just a little under done. Then I tear them in half, wrap them in foil, put them in baggies, and freeze them! Then whenever we want a waffle, we can just take them out and pop them in the toaster! The halves fit perfectly in my toaster, and by the time they are finished they are crispy and cooked to perfection. Definitely a great make-ahead breakfast.

Also, these are sweet enough to eat without syrup. We usually just fold them up in a paper towel and eat them like a piece of toast. No butter or maple syrup necessary! Great for a breakfast on the go.

Go make waffles!