I realized the other day that the majority of the food I eat is breakfast food. I eat a lot of eggs, muffins, fruit bars, smoothies and cereal, not just at breakfast time but throughout the day. It’s not at all uncommon for me to have a bowl of cereal for dessert. My absolute favorite thing is breakfast for dinner, but I have a boyfriend who likes, you know, dinner-y things for dinner. So that’s why I started “whatever” nights, which are nights 1 or 2 times a week when we just fend for ourselves. I get my breakfast for dinner and Brandon can order Chinese food or pizza. Everyone is happy.
My recent breakfast related obsession is blueberries. I’ve been ambivalent toward blueberries in the past, but after putting them in my fruit bars, I realized how delicious they could be and want to use them in everything now. I’ve been making lots of blueberry pancakes lately, but last night I really wanted waffles. I know it can be done, but blueberry waffles sound messy to me. My waffle iron is not easy to clean and I didn’t want to deal with sticky blueberry juice all over it. So I thought the next best thing would be make waffles with a blueberry syrup on top. When I came across this recipe for lemon poppy seed waffles, I knew it would a perfect pairing.
These waffles take a little bit more effort most waffle recipes, but they are perfect for a special occasion like breakfast for dinner or a weekend brunch. They are made with buttermilk and yogurt. I used low-fat dairy and substituted some white whole wheat flour, to make them a bit healthier. Whipped egg whites are folded in very last which makes the waffles light and airy. They come out crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Some waffle recipes don’t work well in my Belgian waffle maker, but this recipe worked perfectly.
The lemon in the waffles is subtle but the blueberry syrup, which I also added lemon to, really enhances the flavor of the waffles. I’m sure these would be good with plain old maple syrup, but the blueberry syrup really makes them extra special. Each bite is just bursting with fresh lemon and blueberry flavor. Even though lemons and blueberries aren’t really “in season” right now, the flavor combination just seems so Spring-y to me. This recipe was exactly what I needed to get myself back in the Spring mindset after last week’s snow and rain.
Lemon Poppy Seed Yogurt Waffles with Blueberry Syrup
waffles adapted from Nibbledish, syrup adapted from Cooking Light
Breakfast | Servings: about 6 waffles or 5 Belgian waffles (may depend on the size of your waffle iron)
Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 5 min | Total time: 40 min
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- Zest from one lemon (about 1 tbsp.)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. poppy seeds
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1/4 cup milk (any kind, I use 1%)
- 3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, separated
- Pinch of cream of tartar
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Blueberry Syrup
- 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries – no need to thaw (substitution: blackberries)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Process
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add blueberries, syrup and lemon juice. Cook until blueberries are soft (and thawed if frozen) and the mixture is heated through. Turn down to low and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- In a large bowl add sugar and lemon zest and mix together with your fingers until almost like a paste, about a minute. (If you’re like me, you’ll want to lick your fingers afterward, it tastes like lemon drops!)
- Stir in both flours, baking soda, salt and poppyseeds.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, yogurt, melted butter and egg yolks. Set aside.
- In a third bowl or electric mixer, whip egg whites and cream or tartar to soft peaks.
- Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon a few times.
- Add lemon juice and mix until the ingredients are almost incorporated.
-
Gently fold in egg whites.
- Spray waffle iron with cooking spray. Spoon in 1/3 cup (or 1/2 cup for Belgian waffles) of batter. Bake until crisp and golden. Serve with warm blueberry syrup.
Nutrition info
Waffles
Serving size: 1 waffle/1 Belgian waffle
Calories: 323/388
Fat: 12g/14g
Carbohydrates: 45g/54g
Fiber: 4g/4g
Protein: 11g/13g
Blueberry Syrup
Serving size: 1/3 cup
Calories: 113
Fat: 0
Carbohydrates: 29g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 1g
Yum, Emily, these look delicious. I think, despite my intense love for dessert, breakfast might be my absolute favorite meal 🙂
My husband doesn’t like “brinner” (as we call breakfast for dinner) either! I love it, though, so we do the same thing you do – I just cook a frozen pizza or something for him and then enjoy some french toast or pancakes. I’m glad we’re not the only ones. These lemon poppyseed waffles are definitely going on the list for the next “brinner” night. They look delicious.
Beautiful photographs. That top one with the waffle and blueberries is stunning!
sounds like a wonderful pairing!
Looks very tasty! yummy 🙂
I totally agree. I could eat breakfast for every meal. These waffles rock. I love adding whipped egg whites into pancake/waffles..makes them so light and fluffy
Wonderful! I’m adding this to my hubby’s ever-growing list of waffles and pancakes. Thanks.
No doubt its a perfect break fast. Combo of waffles with blueberry syrup is really a very interesting and tasty too… i m a big fan of this.. color is too tempting… you r my inspiration now to start a blog of my own.
Do you think that white, whole wheat flour is as good for you as regular whole wheat flour. I really like the organic white whole wheat flour, but I was thinking that anything that tastes that good would be bad for you. My kids really like it, too.