There I was, over the weekend trying to come up with another veggie recipe I could try and share today. Zucchini muffins? No, did that last week. Sweet potato muffins? Interesting, but no, not in the mood to cook all of those potatoes. Carrot muffins? Huh, interesting, might save that one for next week. I wanted something other than muffins to play with, and my mind eventually settled on waffles. Who doesn’t love waffles on a Sunday morning? My first thought was to add corn, I thought that the sweetness would be a nice accent. But after I realized that corn really doesn’t have much, if any, nutritional value I moved on to Plan B: carrots. Yes, I know how weird that sounds, but I really didn’t have anything to lose, so why not?

I started with a made-from-scratch recipe from The Bridal Edition of Betty Crocker’s Cookbook(thanks Grandma!). Since this was my first time experimenting with waffles, I decided to keep it simple. I figured I couldn’t mess it up too bad if I didn’t try anything too crazy. Right? Right.

Finely grated carrots

So, in addition to the basic waffle recipe, I simply added about 1/2 cup finely grated carrot and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. And when I say finely grated, I mean finely grated. Can you image eating a waffle and pulling out a long string of carrot? Eww, I think I just threw up a little. Plus, I didn’t want the texture from the carrots to weird out Eli or end up with under cooked carrots and crunchy waffles. Again, eww.

Carrot Waffle Batter

Overall, they were a success! Eli barely took a breath while he inhaled 3/4 of a LARGE waffle. That’s high praise coming from a little boy! So I do plan on making them again, but with a few modifications. A little more cinnamon and brown sugar, maybe some ground ginger and cloves. And a syrup to match all of these flavors. I think that these changes will help balance out the flavors and really make it a unique dish.

Finished Waffles and Eli's Seal of Approval

Carrot and Cinnamon Waffles

2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-3/4 cups milk (I used whole milk, that is all we had in the house)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder

1. Heat waffle iron – while that is heating send Dad-oo and the kiddo out to the store for eggs. It’s hard to make waffles without eggs!

2. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater or wire whisk until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth.

3. Pour onto waffle maker, bake for about 5 minutes or until done.

That’s it! Super easy, and pretty tasty. I’m going to put this one down as a success.