Gingerbread Waffles with Maple (Printable)
Warm spiced waffles infused with ginger and cinnamon, served with a drizzle of maple syrup.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar
03 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
06 - 2 teaspoons ground ginger
07 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
08 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
09 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
→ Wet Ingredients
10 - 2 large eggs
11 - 1 1/2 cups whole milk
12 - 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
13 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
14 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ To Serve
15 - Maple syrup, warmed
16 - Optional: whipped cream
17 - Optional: chopped toasted pecans
# How To Make It:
01 - Preheat your waffle iron following the manufacturer's instructions.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg until evenly combined.
03 - In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add milk, molasses, melted butter, and vanilla extract; whisk until smooth.
04 - Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined; slight lumps are acceptable to avoid overmixing.
05 - Lightly grease the waffle iron with oil or nonstick spray.
06 - Pour approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter per waffle onto the preheated iron; cook according to manufacturer's instructions until golden brown and crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes.
07 - Place cooked waffles in a low oven set to 200°F (95°C) to keep warm while cooking remaining waffles.
08 - Serve waffles hot with warmed maple syrup; optionally top with whipped cream and toasted pecans.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- They taste like gingerbread cookies but with the satisfying crisp of a proper waffle—no apology for the spices here.
- The molasses gives them a deeper, more complex sweetness than regular waffles, so you need less syrup if you want to taste what's actually happening.
- They freeze beautifully and reheat into something almost better than fresh, perfect for rushed mornings.
02 -
- Overmixing is the most common mistake—those lumps are actually protecting your waffles from becoming tough and dense, so resist the urge to stir until everything is perfectly smooth.
- Cold batter spreads differently than room-temperature batter; if you let your batter sit for a few minutes after mixing, the waffles will be noticeably more tender inside.
- The molasses is non-negotiable; it's what separates these from any other spiced waffle, so don't try to swap it for honey or agave.
03 -
- Room-temperature eggs and cooled melted butter prevent any chance of scrambling when you combine wet and dry ingredients, resulting in a more uniformly tender waffle.
- The molasses-brown sugar combination is what gives these their distinctive flavor and color—don't be tempted to swap molasses for honey, as it fundamentally changes the taste profile.