Whip up some Leslie Knope approved waffles for WAFFLE DAY!
Happy Waffle Day, waffle lovers! Since waffles are very much an important part of our breakfast (aka, our LIVES), we present you with an awesome, chocolate-y waffle recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie. It’s basically guaranteed to make your Waffle Day the BEST day.
For ages, I’ve been a huge fan of Katie Higgins, the vegan blogger and genius behind Chocolate Covered Katie, so when I heard she had a cookbook coming out I knew I needed to get my hands on it. After all, I have followed her blog for years and her recipes have never failed me. Her words have either amused or touched me, sometimes both at a time. Katie’s wit can be as bittersweet as the chocolate some of her treats call for.
However, there are a lot of talented bloggers with grand food and mad writing skills out there, so what is it, specifically, that draws me to Katie? She has this. . .je ne sais quoi factor. As in, she looks squeaky clean, yet the name of her blog is so very suggestive. She’ll sneak in these little jokes that you will miss if you are scrolling down just to get the recipe, so don’t do that. Read her. Enjoy her. Love her.
Anyway, all this is to say I went out of my way to get my hands on her cookbook, appropriately titled Chocolate Covered Katie which is coming out January 6th. The sub-title is “over 80 delicious recipes that are secretly GOOD for you.” That is the schtick behind Katie’s goodies: They are desserts. They are decadent. However either they are less bad for you than usual, or downright nourishing. And they are vegan. One of the important distinctions behind Katie’s health food is that she doesn’t put labels on desserts that call them “cheats” or “sinful.” Why give food moral power?
Instead she focuses on the positive. I guess having a healthy body gave her a healthy mind. Another thing that endeared her to me is that she came clean about having an exercise issue. She battled with body image for a long while —she ate a lot, but ran compulsively and was on the unhealthy side of thin. Well, she quit that and blogged about it. That is bravery. That is strength.
As for the book, while not everything in it is chocolate, everything in it leans heavily on the sweet side. I think the most savory recipe you’ll find in the book is for bran muffins and even those are rife with molasses. My favorite chapter probably was the “Dessert for Breakfast” chapter. While I hate eating first thing in the morning, breakfast foods and dessert are my two favorite courses. Beyond the cocktail course. That is a course right?
As I have a healthy obsession with waffles and waffling whatever I can, naturally I needed to follow Katie’s lead and waffle up some chocolate tastiness. These are quick and easy to make. They were great with vanilla ice cream, great with coffee ice cream, great with maple syrup, great with cherries and heck, great with coffee too.
Chocolate Brownie Waffles adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie by Katie Higgins
- 1 cup flour (I used all-purpose, Katie says use that or spelt)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cacao or cocoa powder (I used natural cocoa powder)
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sweetener (I used sugar, Katie says use that or 1/8 tsp. pure stevia extract)
- scant 1 cup of milk unless your sweetener was liquid, then use 3/4 (I used almond milk)
- 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. oil (vegetable or coconut-I used vegetable oil)
- 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract.
Preheat your waffle iron. Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sweetener (unless you used a liquid sweetener). In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients, including the sweetener if you opted to use a liquid. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. It will be a bit lumpy and that is okay. Grease your waffle iron (I sprayed mine with some nonstick) and follow your waffle iron’s directions as to how much batter to cook and how long. I ended up with about four big waffles. Serve as you please!
