M. Suzanne Terry

My sister and brother-in-law got me a waffle-maker to replace Old Faithful that finally died a sad, smoky death early in the fall, so naturally, I was itching to use it.  What better way to do so than to introduce my first vegan treat of the year?

Food photographer, I am not.  Ignore the towel.  Concentrate on the golden brown fluffiness.  Also, my vintage Fiestaware is super cute.

Moving on…

These waffles are the result of various trials and recipes.  I consulted this recipe from allrecipes.com and Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything to help guesstimate the ratio of the ingredients.  Then I deleted and substituted those ingredients to make them vegan.  Then I squinted and fussed and bent the ingredients to my will until the batter looked like it should and produced what I wanted.  I like a crisp waffle, but some people like them puffier, so if you’re one of said people, just beat the batter for an extra minute or two, and that will help it out.

I also flat-out ignored the piddly 1/2-teaspoon – 1 teaspoon nonsense with the vanilla.  I didn’t measure what I used exactly, but I did pour it like I was about to do a shot.

Vanilla Coconut Waffles

Yields 6-7 waffles

1.  Preheat waffle iron and brush with coconut oil.

2.  Sift together:

• 2 cups AP flour (I’ve also done these with whole wheat, but ease up on it if you do – 1 3/4 cup at most)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

3.  In a separate bowl, mix together:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (I use soy free) or coconut oil (my personal preference), melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 3/4 – 2 cups (start with 1 3/4 and add more if the batter looks too thick at final mix) full-fat coconut milk
• 1 healthy dose (around 1 1/2 tablespoons…or to taste.  Whatever.) vanilla extract

4.  Mix the contents of both bowls together, adding more coconut milk if the batter looks too thick (i.e., moves more like molasses than waffle batter).

5.  Stir in about a cup of shaved coconut (I use unsweetened, but sweetened is fine, too).  Mix thoroughly.

6.  Pour onto waffle iron.  When it stops steaming, it’s done!

I love breakfast, and I especially love these waffles.  They are a quick fix, and they freeze beautifully.  Enjoy!