Oh it’s waffle time it’s waffle time, won’t you have some waffles of mine?

Heh, Scrubs reference aside, it’s no secret how much I adore breakfast.  Despite never being a morning person (I like getting up early, I just don’t like being social or chatty or, well, vocal at all) any food usually eaten in the AM is my favorite, and waffles #1 on the “sweet” side of breakfast items I love. And although the dominant part of my brain is screaming at me “It’s Thanksgiving this week! Are you nuts?! Waffles?! Have your non-fat yogurt and mini-wheats and save yourself while you can!”, it has been silenced with this glorious idea that struck me.

Breakfast for dinner is normal, right? So why not breakfast for dessert? Or dessert for breakfast? Oatmeal raisin cookies are one of my favorites, so as I was standing in my kitchen last night and looking at my pantry, I saw rolled oats, golden raisins which had been there awhile (ooh, need to get rid of those soon…) and a box of waffle mix. And then the light bulb went off! Why not? I have raisins and cinnamon and maple syrup in oatmeal, and in my mind all breakfast flavors flow in and out of each other like a well-choreographed dance, so why not go with it? So I did. And a new favorite was born!

These aren’t the lowest calorie thing in the world, but they’re so filling and hearty, you could eat them in the morning and easily be full until dinner. The oats and raisins add fantastic texture (and sweetness), so they’re heartier than your average light waffle. As for toppings, I like to heat up a little honey and stir in a teeny splash of vanilla and then drizzle all over. Since it’s so sweet you need very little, but if you really wanted to go all-out, try melting some peanut butter and drizzling on top. I can only fathom the goodness.

Oatmeal Raisin Waffles

Makes about 4 double Belgian-sized waffles (so 8 singles), I made a half recipe for the pictures above.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1½ cups milk
• 3 TBL pure maple syrup (great tip – if you don’t want to buy an entire bottle of expensive pure syrup, see if your grocery store has a tap in the bulk area to only get as much as you need. My Whole Foods and Safeway do!)
• 3 TBL vegetable oil
• ¾ cup golden raisins
• Melted butter or non-stick spray

Toppings suggestions:

• Heated honey with a little vanilla stirred in
• Melted peanut butter
• More maple syrup

Directions

1.) Preheat your waffle iron.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the oats and toss until combined.

3.) In a separate bowl whisk together the milk, maple syrup, and vegetable oil. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined, then fold in the raisins.

4.) Let the batter sit for five minutes or so the oats can absorb some moisture.

5.) Brush your waffle iron with either melted butter (natch) or non-stick spray (save those calories!). Ladle in batter and cook until firm, but not too crispy.

6.) Serve with honey-vanilla syrup, melted peanut butter, more maple syrup, bananas, butter and cinnamon sugar… let your imagination run wild!