Chocolate Waffles Two Ways: Buckwheat w/ Maple Nut Butter Syrup & Whole Wheat w/ Strawberries

Sinfully delicious and oh so healthy! Something came over me and I had an urge for creating a great chocolate waffle for us health nuts, and I did it not one way...but two. These recipes can also double as a pancake mix too.

Let's begin with the buckwheat waffle. Adding buckwheat is a healthy option to pack in some added nutrition to your meal with while adding a nice nutty flavor as well. Buckwheat is also gluten free. To make these pancakes gluten free use GF all purpose flour in place of the WW pastry flour. The chocolate is subtle and the buckwheat comes through creating a nice balance, especially with the nut butter syrup....such a great combination! I think this nut butter would be decadent on non-dairy ice cream or chocolate cake too.

 Chocolate Buckwheat Waffles w/ Maple Nut Butter Syrup

Waffles

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, or flour of choice
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup organic raw cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mineral salt
• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal, optional for extra nutrition
• 1 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, or milk of choice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional
• 1/4 cup coconut oil warmed, or oil of choice, optional*
• extra oil for greasing the griddle if needed

Maple Nut Butter Syrup

• 2 tablespoons nut butter of choice
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons water

First mix your nut butter syrup: Combine ingredients in a small bowl mix until smooth. For thinner syrup use more water. This was great without the added syrup too. Makes about one serving. Set aside.

Preheat waffle maker/griddle to manufacturer's instructions. 

In medium size bowl, combine the flours, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and flax meal. Add nut milk, vanilla and warmed oil to dry ingredients, mix until combined. (If using the warmed coconut oil, be sure to warm your milk as well or once the oil and chilled milk combine the coconut oil will harden again creating tiny  hardened oil pieces.)

Pour batter onto waffle iron and cook for three to five minutes. You may or may not need to oil the waffle maker in between batches, I didn't but you may find otherwise. I used the George Forman waffel iron for mine. Makes appr. 6 - 8 waffles depending on size.

Serve with  the nut butter syrup and sliced bananas & enjoy...

*You can make a great waffle without the added oil as well, try both ways to see which you like best. I like both.

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Now onto number two which is a whole wheat waffle with fresh strawberries...so sweet are the strawberries of the season...add some to this chocolate waffle with some pure maple syrup and a little coconut and life is sweet as can be!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, or flour of choice
• 1/2 cup organic raw cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mineral salt
• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal, optional for extra nutrition
• 1 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, or milk of choice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional
• 1/4 cup coconut oil warmed or baking oil of choice, optional...extra oil for greasing the griddle if needed

Directions for waffles same as above...

Serve with pure maple syrup, organic strawberries and a sprinkle of coconut flakes...you could use confectioner's sugar but we are trying to stay away from refined sugars here. ;)

Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. If freezing, when ready to use let thaw. Toast your waffle and voila...it's waffle time again.

To make these gluten free, use gluten free all purpose flour in place of the whole wheat.

Whatever style you choose...Enjoy ! 

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On a side note, today I received my new book in the mail, The Flavor Bible...can't wait to dig in and see what inspirations come about. I heard about this through a post from 'Rawified'...it was mentioned and peeked my curiosity. I know this is for real chef's, but I think it's a cool book and will come in handy.

Happy everything !

ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES (4 Ingredients)

As you can tell from my recipe collection, I'm not much of a baker. Now I know why... If I bake it, I will eat it! I'm usually very content with dipping my dark chocolate in almond butter every night but have been wanting to test out a new nut butter cookie. I'm not a fan of all the typical ingredients that go into many baked goods like butters, tons of sugar and flour. This is why I love my raw cookies and balls so much. They are clean (meaning whole foods), easy and always come out great, unlike baking which is a little tricky sometimes, probably another reason I don't bake very much. So the trick for me is finding baked goods that use minimal ingredients and taste great too. These cookies fit the bill for me! For the person who usually uses butters and such in your recipes this cookie will be a bit different to you but I encourage you to give it at try and see for yourself. It reminds me more of a no bake cookie but with a wonderful baked outside texture. For someone who is already adapted to eating this way....you should have no problem with these!

The recipe I share with you today is something other than what was intended. It was originally going to be a peanut butter cookie but I ended up using almond butter instead. I also expected it to look like a traditional cookie once done. My first try came out flat, which wasn't a bad thing but they were too soft to pick up without falling apart. Flavor wise they were perfect, although a little too sweet. I tried again using less sugar and baking them a little longer to see if that would help stiffen them up. The result was cookies that reminded me of lace cookies, or something close to that, hence the original title. Once cooled a few minutes, they were sturdy. Perfect! So voila, we have 4 ingredient almond butter cookies. or almond butter thin cookies. And even more so, my baking experience wasn't a total loss. After a few attempts with ingredients and baking times, I finally have a recipe that I can stand behind. They have a nice density and chew, good texture and not too sweet. A little crispy on the edges with a nice chewy middle. And with only four ingredients, well technically five if using the flax egg, this is such an easy recipe to make. And they pair perfect with a nice glass chilled glass of non-diary milk or lemon water. I have been thoroughly enjoying all this cookie testing! I hope you will enjoy this cookie...not too soft, not too crisp...just perfectly in the middle. And, for what they are with only 4 ingredients...I'm completely satisfied with the outcome. If you appreciate a clean cookie, you may really enjoy these too! 

Just a note: I tried making these with peanut butter hoping it would be the same results but didn't care as much for the outcome with this recipe. It was a more traditional looking cookie that was soft and tender with a velvety texture. Maybe that is something you might like to try! I hope to have a peanut butter cookie recipe soon as I know not everyone has almond butter available and I want a go-to peanut butter cookie recipe! 

 

Gather your few ingredients...

 

Mix dough well, place rounded scoops on baking sheet, flatten and bake...

Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy these incredibly simple and flavorful cookies!

ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or organic pure cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 flax egg (1 heaping Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp non-dairy milk or water) or 1/3 banana, mashed
• 3 level tablespoons oat flour or flour of choice, optional (see notes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start by making your flax egg. In a small bowl, place flaxseed meal and water/milk, stir and set aside to set, about 15 minutes ideally. Or if using banana, mash well in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine nut butter, sugar, vanilla and flax egg/banana. Mix well until dough is stiffened and hard to mix, about 1 minute. Line baking sheet with a silpat, parchment paper or lightly grease with oil. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out rounded scoops, place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Using a fork or your index and middle finger, gently press to flatten, making a crisscross pattern. Your dough will seem oily and stick to the fork, it's normal with the almond butter, just be patient..you'll be rewarded soon. Feel free to sprinkle a little sugar or salt over each cookie. Place baking sheet on middle rack and bake 12 - 15 minutes. (edit: I tried different baking sheets with different results. Cooking time will vary from sheet to sheet. The sheet shown was baked for 15 minutes, other sheets require lower cooking times or the edges will brown more than you may like.) Remove from oven and let cool.

These are best stored covered on a couple paper towels, the paper towels will help soak up some of the natural oils.

Makes approx. 14 cookies (that's if you don't eat the batter!).

Notes:

For this recipe I used Trader Joe's Raw Almond Butter, Creamy and Crunchy, both worked well. Keep in mind that other brands of almond butter may contain added sugars...adjust the sugar slightly by reducing a tablespoon or so if you like. Also, keep in mind that your cookies may vary in shape depending on what type/brand of almond butter you use.

Try subbing in 1/3 of a banana for the flax egg. I did a few trials with this method and had great success!

As noted above, I tried making these with natural peanut butter hoping it would be the same results but didn't care as much for the outcome with this recipe. Of course, you can try if you like and find you like it. They were soft, tender with a velvety texture.

If you want a more traditional cookie (like the ones below), add 3 level tablespoons flour (oat, spelt, whole wheat pastry or all purpose gluten free) to the mix and bake for 12 - 13 minutes. The addition of the flour will help soak up some of the natural oils making these a crisper cookie with a nice chew. I used chunky almond butter for the cookies below. Again delicious! (If you want a traditional looking cookie without the flour, try using refrigerated almond butter and mix the batter once the oven is ready. I didn't test this out yet with the almond butter but I have a feeling it will work great!)

However you like your cookies...enjoy the deliciousness!

I'd love to see your masterpieces!
 #thesimpleveganista