Warm Winter Breakfasts

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Winter may not officially start for another 19 days, but it sure feels like it's upon us already.  I know I've spent a lot of time talking about Fall over the past couple of months, but Winter's pretty outstanding too.  That's one of the things I absolutely adore about this part of the country- every season is the perfect length.  By the time I'm sick of cold Winter weather the daffodils will be peeking out from under the ground.  For now, though, I'm embracing coats and the occasional snow fall.  :-) I grew up in a part of California that allowed me to wear flip-flops almost year-round, so the changing seasons are still pretty magical for me!

I find myself making cozier breakfasts once the weather gets chilly and my daughter's absolute favorite is homemade waffles.  I usually make up a giant batch of them and just freeze any extras for easy weekday breakfasts.  This morning I found myself staring at a TON of leftover sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving and another idea for those leftovers was born:

Sweet Potato Waffles with Cranberry Maple Syrup

Um, yes.  Just yes. 

The flavor is so yummy.  It's wonderfully filling, lightly spiced, and the sweet/tart combination is awesome.  Though we all love them for the flavor, I also am excited to have a way to get leftover sweet potatoes into my daughter (who claims to hate all things sweet potato).  The waffles are a great disguise!

There really isn't a way to sneak the cranberry maple syrup past my daughter, but that's ok- I got the sweet potatoes in!  :-)

These are really easy to throw together.  Personally, my sweet potato casserole was already puréed, but if you had chunkier sweet potatoes leftover just mash them up before making these waffles.  Don't get too picky about picking it clean of marshmallows or pecans or whatever you had on top of yours either, because it will all blend in just fine in the waffles.  I used my whole berry cranberry sauce for the syrup, but you could just as easily finish off a can of the jellied sauce if that's what you have on hand- really, just use what you've got.

I'm happy to get more use out of my leftovers AND to finally have a way to get sweet potatoes into my kids.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Sweet Potato Waffles with Cranberry Maple Syrup
Click to see the recipe on Allrecipes.com

Waffles:
1 1/2 C puréed sweet potatoes
2/3 C milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt

Syrup:
1 C maple syrup
1/2 C cranberry sauce
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat waffle iron.  In medium mixing bowl, mix together sweet potatoes, milk, egg, and melted butter.

2. In large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves, and salt.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine.

3. Cook batter in waffle iron according to waffle maker instructions. (My waffle maker takes 1/3 C batter per waffle and cooks for about 3 minutes.)

4. In small saucepan, combine syrup, cranberry sauce, and cinnamon.  Cook over medium heat until warmed through and combined.