Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Kayleigh here.  When is the last time you indulged in a warm, gooey cinnamon roll? The kind that comes from a high-end bakery, or over a full day of preparation and patience? Don't you wish you could get that kind of satisfaction on a whim, whenever you start to get that craving?

My desire for instant cinnamon buns ended in a realization- I really like waffles, too. And waffles are quite a bit faster than overnight rolls.

So, now the work came of making a waffle batter with the deliciously sweet kick of cinnamon sugar in each bite, and just enough denseness to hold up to the syrupy soaking it would receive. And really, I think these did the job quite well.

Ingredients:

For the waffles (makes 2)

1/4 cup Sorghum Flour
1/4 cup White Rice Flour
1/8 cup Tapioca Starch
Pinch Guar Gum
2 ts Baking Soda
1-2 TB Cinnamon, depending on tastes
2 TB Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup
1 TB Cashew Butter (optional, but adds a richness to the batter)
1 Egg
1/2 cup Milk
1 ts Vanilla Extract
1 TB Butter, melted
Handful Walnuts/Pecans (optional)

Cream Cheese Sauce

4 TB Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1 TB Butter
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
Small splash of Almond or Vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Combine all waffle ingredients in a bowl. Mix only until combined- overmixing batters can cause weird texture changes in the final product.
2) Heat up the waffle iron, and begin making those waffles. While you're waiting, mix the cream cheese sauce ingredients in a smaller bowl. If you desire, you can heat it up in a microwave in 10 second intervals. Be careful- cream cheese has a tendency to coat the walls of your microwave if you are not watching closely.
3) Once both waffles are done, cover them in the sauce and serve up hot!

Other variations: If you find the waffles to be too dry, or miss that cinnamon sugar filling, then microwave a mixture of 2Tablespoons butter, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon, and a pinch of powdered Ginger. Also, if you're not a big cream cheese fan, you can always mix up a standard milk and sugar glaze ( I won't put a recipe up here, but you should be able to find one easy enough)

Jason here. First thing, always be careful when microwaving the cream cheese sauce. Any sauce really, but I have found anything with sugar to come out like lava, if microwaved for even a second too long. Second, these are really delicious. We whipped up a generous amount of cream cheese sauce and kept the extra in the fridge, since it reheats so nicely. Delicious cinnamon bun waffles for breakfast before heading off to work really started my day off right.

Gluten free baking has been a very odd experience for me. So far we have been trying to duplicate different baked goods. This of course makes it impossible to bake the exact same thing using different ingredients. I have no other better way of describing it other than saying it is a weird mental sensation. I look at something we have baked, say bread, and think to myself this will taste exactly like the bread I have always tasted. I can’t help but to think that. This means even if tastes fine, it still doesn’t taste like “bread”. 

Thankfully, these unique tasting experiments we create can be repurposed. The cinnamon bun waffles are such an example. When I eat the cinnamon bun waffles, I don’t have a preconceived notion of what they should taste like, what their texture should be. I only know that they taste delicious, and the waffles we created work perfectly.

So I’ll end this post by saying, don’t be afraid to repurpose things you cook. Just because it didn’t come out exactly how you would like for one dish, doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect for another.