Wholesome Gluten-free Apple Pumpkin Spice Waffles| with Fresh Apples
Looking for the perfect way to start your winter and Fall mornings? These wholesome Gluten-Free Apple Pumpkin Spice Waffles will supercharge you with fiber, calcium, and vitamin A and prepare you for your day!
Can Celiacs eat waffles?
The answer is a resounding yes! Albeit not with the regular waffle mix. This recipe uses a custom mix of gluten-free flours (not the store bought gluten-free flour blend!) to give you a perfectly crispy crust and soft and fluffy melt-in-your-mouth texture inside.
Is Mccormick Pumpkin Spice gluten-free?
Yes! Mccormick’s pumpkin spice is wonderful blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and all spice is gluten-free! Always check the label of a spice mix to ensure it is certified gluten-free. My husband has celiac so I always ensure the spice mixes and sauces I use are certified gluten-free and there’s no cross-contamination.
What are Gluten-Free waffles made of?
The base ingredient in regular waffles is wheat or all purpose flour. Some gluten-free waffle recipes use store-bought gluten-free flour blends. In this recipe, I have used a combination of sorghum flour and gluten-free custard powder.
Sorghum flour is packed with fiber and micro nutrients and is a perfect choice for a wholesome breakfast.
Custard powder is rich with protein, calcium and vitamin B. It acts as a binding agent and helps hold the shape of the waffle. It is also the super power that makes these waffles extra crispy!!
This unique combination of flour and custard powder blended with fresh apples gives a crispy crust to the waffle and is soft, and delicate inside.
Is Custard Powder Gluten-Free?
The core ingredient in custard powder is corn starch/ cornflour. Custard powder also contains flavoring agents and may contain color. Corn starch/ cornflour is naturally gluten-free hence there are several custard powder brands that are gluten-free. In this recipe I’ve used Bird’s custard powder.
What kind of apples to use for Apple Waffles?
In this recipe I used Gala Organic apples with skin for a delightful bite in my waffles. These apples also work excellently in baking recipes and I lessen the amount of sugar in my recipe to balance their sweetness.
Other good choices are Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Golden delicious.
How to make Gluten-Free Apple Pumpkin Spice Waffles?
What Ingredients do I need to make Gluten-free Apple Pumpkin Spice Waffles?
This simple recipe calls for just a handful of ingredients:
Flour: I used Sorghum flour as the base ingredient in my recipe. If you don’t have sorghum flour, feel free to use either rice flour or a gluten-free flour* of your choice. I would highly recommend making this recipe with sorghum flour.
*In case you’re using a gluten-free flour blend and it contains corn starch you may leave out the custard powder and just use 1.5 cups of flour instead.
Custard Powder: I used Bird’s original Custard Powder in this recipe. The corn starch in the custard powder acts as the glue and makes up for the lack of gluten. In case you don’t have custard powder, you can use corn starch instead.
Sweetener: I used organic brown sugar in this recipe. Brown sugar has a rich molasses flavor and tends a delicate texture to the waffles. If you don’t have brown sugar, you can use white sugar using the same ratio.
Flavors: I used Mccormick’s pumpkin spice powder and Pure Vanilla Extract for a beautiful fall/winter taste.
Baking Powder: The use of baking powder makes the waffles light and airy.
Apple: The texture of crisp apples adds a delightful bite to these waffles. I used Organic Gala apples as they are sweet and juicy, if you prefer a little tartness, you can choose Pink Lady or Granny Smith.
Fat: I used the Organic Virgin Coconut Oil from Costco as the fat in these waffles. I love trying out different types of fats in my cooking. For waffles and pancakes, I find that coconut oil is a great substitute for butter. In case you prefer butter, just substitute it 1:1. Some other options are avocado oil, applesauce, canola oil however the ratios may slightly vary. I also used 2% milk for moisture to the batter as sorghum consumes more liquid than wheat flour.
For a Vegan option, you can switch out the milk with oat milk/ almond milk.
Egg: The use of egg in this recipe makes the waffles fluffy with a crispy crust. For a Vegan option, switch out the egg with applesauce, mashed banana or 1/2 cup more oat milk/ almond milk.
Pecans: I’m a huge fan of nuts! They are super foods and are perfect addition to a wholesome breakfast. If you don’t have pecans, walnuts, cashews or pistachios also work excellently.
Detailed Process steps for making Gluten-Free Apple Pumpkin spice Waffles
- Preparation:
- Measure the ingredients per the recipe card.
- Wash the apple, and shred the unpeeled apple using a food processor/ grater. Pic#1 & 2
- Crush the pecans and set aside. Pic#3
- Dry Flour Mix: In a mixing bowl, sieve together the dry ingredients – sorghum flour, custard powder, pumpkin spice powder, and baking powder. Pic#4 & 5
Pro Tip: Do Not skip this step! This step adds air to the flour mix and makes the waffles light. It also ensures there are no clumps/ impurities.
- Wet Mixture:
- In another bowl, the shredded apples, milk, egg, sugar, vanilla extract and whisk together. Pic#6, 7
- Stir in the coconut oil and mix well. Pic#8
- The Batter:
- Add the flour mix into the wet mixture in 3 portions, taking care to mix thoroughly. (Pic#8)
- I added some more milk (1/2 cup more) to get to a consistency where the batter can be spread on the waffle maker without being too runny. (Pic#9)
- Cooking
- Make sure the waffle iron is turned on and the “Ready” light turns on*. This indicates the waffle has reached the set temperature and the batter can be poured on. (Pic#10)
- Grease the iron with butter/ coconut oil (about 1/2 tsp), this step ensures the waffles will not stick to the waffle iron. (Pic#11)
Pro Tip: Take care to coat all the sections well, butter/ coconut oil with high fat works best.
3. Take a cup measure or ice cream scoop to pour the batter onto the waffle iron. I poured about 1 cup and 1 tbsp of batter. Spread the batter with the pack of your scoop or cup measure to ensure full coverage, close the lid of the waffle maker. (Pic#12 & 13)
Pro Tip: Make sure the batter covers the tips of the waffle iron to get nice fluffy and full waffles.
4. Cook for about 2 minutes then flip the maker to cook the waffles for a beautiful golden brown crispy crust about 3-4 minutes.
Top it with your favorite brand of Maple Syrup and some freshly sliced apples and enjoy!
Pro Tip: Cook time may vary based on the brand/ make of your waffle iron. Refer to your waffle iron instructions.
Wholesome Gluten-Free Apple Pumpkin Spice Waffles
Equipment
- 1 Waffle Iron I used Bella Waffle Iron
Ingredients
Dry Mix Ingredients
- 1¼ cup Sorghum flour (jowar) Certified Gluten Free
- ¼ cup Vanilla custard powder Certified Gluten Free - I used Bird's custard powder
- 1 tsp Baking powder Certified Gluten Free
Wet Mix
- ⅓ cup Brown sugar Organic
- 1 + ½ cup 2% Milk Organic
- 1 large Egg Organic Cage free
- 1 medium Apple Gala/ Honeycrisp
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil Virgin
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
Toppings/ Additions
- ¼ cup Pecans
- Maple Syrup As much as your heart desires 🙂
Instructions
Preparation
- Prepare ingredients, ensure the egg, and milk are at room temperature.
- Wash the apple, and shred the unpeeled apple using a food processor/ grater.
- Crush the pecans and set aside.
Flour Mix and Wet Mix
- In a mixing bowl, sieve together the dry ingredients - sorghum flour, custard powder, pumpkin spice powder, and baking powder.
The Batter
- Add the flour mix into the wet mixture in 3 portions, taking care to mix thoroughly. Add some more milk (1/2 cup more) to get to a consistency where the batter can be spread on the waffle maker easily.
Cooking
- Turn on the waffle iron. When the " Ready" light turns on, Grease the iron with butter/ coconut oil (about 1/2 tsp).
- Take a cup measure or ice cream scoop to pour the batter onto the waffle iron. I poured about 1 cup and 1 tbsp of batter. Spread the batter with the pack of your scoop or cup measure to ensure full coverage, close the lid of the waffle maker.
- Cook for about 2 minutes then flip the maker to cook the waffles for a beautiful golden brown crispy crust for about 3-4 minutes.
- Top it with your favorite brand of Maple Syrup and some freshly sliced apples and enjoy!
More Gluten-free Breakfast Recipes:
