Pumpkin Waffles in Clouds of Cream Cheese and Fruit

Oooooh this was soooo gooood!

While doing my thing on Pinterest this past Sunday morning, a search turned up this recipe for pumpkin roll pancakes on Holiday Cottage.  My current favorite dessert recipe for the holidays is a pumpkin roll and I was hooked.  I was intrigued by a brief glimpse of chef Anne Burell on the Today show doing up a recipe using pumpkin and ricotta cheese and I had been drooling ever since.  Thing about it is this:  I wanted to make a recipe for waffles instead of pancakes.  I much prefer the crispness and bite of a waffle over a mushy pancake.  Knowing changes would have to be made to the basic recipe, I found this link which was very helpful.

As a rule, I am trying to cut sugar out of the diet.  For years I have been trying to loose a few pounds, and they just haven't gone anywhere.   Recently I was VERY pleased to discover that not having my usual honey in tea or coffee or a sweet snack made all the difference.  Pounds began shedding as if by magic.  After dumping six, I have sort of plateaued, but I guess I might have to work at it to get more off.  Anyway, I did not want to use more sugar for a crispier crust, so I actually reduced that in the recipe.  After all, there is plenty of sweetness in the topping and you could always drizzle this with maple syrup if you have a sweet tooth.  Ricotta didn't make it into the batter, but I did use buttermilk.

Pumpkin Waffles in the Clouds

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2. 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3. 2 teaspoons baking powder
4. 1 teaspoon baking soda
5. 1/2 teaspoon table salt
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
7. 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8. 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
9. 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
10. 2 Tbsp brown sugar
11. about 1 cup buttermilk
12. 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
13. 2 tablespoons  melted butter or safflower oil
14. 1 egg, separated
15. 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 

1. Pancakes. Mix together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar. In a separate bowl, whip the egg white into the soft peak stage.  And in yet another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, oil, egg yolk and pumpkin. Combine wet ingredients with dry and gently combine until mixed. Now, gently fold in the egg white mixture.  Do not over-mix.  The batter will be quite thick, but still easily pourable.
2. Heat your waffle iron to medium-high heat. When hot, use a nonstick spray to coat the grill. Drop 1/3 cup batter onto the grill and cook until the steaming stops and waffles are nicely browned and slightly crispy.
3. Serve with a dollop of cream cheese topping and a sprinkle of chopped pecans and perhaps a drizzle of maple syrup.
4. Makes about 6 waffles.

Sauteed Fruit

1. 2 Green apples diced
2. Handful of raisins
3. Handful of dried apricots, chopped
4. 2 Tbsp butter
5. 2 Tbsp brown sugar
6. 1-2 tsp of Cinnamon

Melt butter in frypan over low heat and add apples.  Saute a few minutes until apples begin to soften and then add raisins and apricots and cinnamon. Add sugar and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and allow it to simmer over low heat and it develops a syrup.  Don't let it get too dry!  This can be used alone for topping waffles of pancakes as a healthier alternative to syrup.

 Cream Cheese Clouds

1. 4 ounces cream cheese
2. 2 Tbsp butter
3. 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (or as needed for consistency)
4. 2 Tbsp pumpkin puree
5. 1/2 cup of cold sauteed fruit

 Prepare whipped cream by beating cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.  Fold in the fruit. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.