Sweet Potato Waffles

[underused]

We'd just about finished the last big box of sweet potatoes when we were gifted another.

I found a recipe for Sweet Potato Waffles here. They were easy and delicious, with a lovely deep orange-gold colour. They filled the kitchen with the holiday scent of cinnamon and ginger (so they'd likely go over well with winter guests).

I made ours with cooked fresh sweet potato we had leftover in the fridge. I found the original recipe far too thick, and I personally prefer very little sugar in foods I plan to drown in syrup, so the recipe below has been amended to reflect those preferences. ☺

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 c pureed sweet potato
3/4 - 1 c milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp melted butter

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 scant tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your waffle iron

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In another bowl, blend or whisk pureed sweet potato, egg, and butter together. Add the lesser quantity of milk.

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients all at once and stir quickly until the batter is just combined--probably about 10-15 seconds. (Don't fear the lumps.)

Batter will be very thick. If you find it too thick, you can add up to another 1/4 c milk (to make a total of 1 c).

Ladle batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook until waffles are golden and crisp. (Because it's thick, you may have to spread it out slightly to encourage even cooking.)

Comments

[full_metal_ox]

Not the sort of thing I myself could use, but I have a sister-in-law and niece who like their sweet potatoes even sweeter (they enjoy a Thanksgiving concoction of sweet potatoes and marshmallows--variants add whipped cream and pecans--that they, determinedly ignoring its inherent desserthood, regard as a side dish.) If that sort of thing (which I suspect of being characteristically Southern U.S.*) interests you, here's a recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/229691/mashed-sweet-potatoes-with-marshmallows/

*Candied yams originated when slaves on sugar plantations, needing a quick and surreptitious worktime pick-me-up, boiled sweet potatoes in the sugar syrup they were rendering.

[underused]

As a Canadian, I always wondered about this marshmallows-for-dinner thing. I remember hearing it mentioned in American holiday specials and feeling sure I was misunderstanding something. I'll admit, I'm so curious to taste this dish, but I can't bring myself to make it. (The historical note adds perspective, but it doesn't make it any less strange.)

HOWEVER (re the recipe) I'm intrigued at the idea of boiling the sweet potatoes and then "drying" them in the oven. I'm guessing it makes their texture closer to that of a standard potato, which I think could be useful.