Belgian Cinnamon Liege Waffles

Two summers ago, while hanging out in downtown Salt Lake City after a concert, a few of my family members and I happened upon Bruges Waffles & Frites. Famous for their dessert waffles, fries, gourmet fry sauces and the infamous machine gun sandwich, Bruges intrigued me.

Soon after taking one bite of the fluffiest, thickest, waffle swirled with caramelized sugar and cinnamon, topped with strawberries and ice cream, I knew I was done for. These were unlike anything I've ever seen or tasted and I knew I was going to become an addict.

And while I continued to purchase Bruges' waffles, my wallet was depleting, so I set out in search of a copycat recipe. It took a bit of research before I found out that Bruges' waffles are liege waffles and call for Belgian Pearl Sugar. Unfortunately, this sugar is pretty impossible to find in any store so I ordered some from good old Amazon. It seems a bit pricy at first, but in comparison to buying one $7 waffle at Bruges, it is worth it. Plus you can pile on as many toppings as you please without the extra price.

Here is a picture of the dough with the pearl sugar folded in, just so you're not alarmed. The dough needs to rise and gets to be the consistency of a bread dough, unlike normal waffle batter. And you can only imagine how good those sugar pearls are caramelized, right? So yummy.

Be sure to pile on the toppings and enjoy this decadent dessert like I did in place of a traditional birthday "cake."

Belgian Cinnamon Liege Waffles

Adapted from Lars

Makes 8-12 Waffles

1 Tbsp. yeast

3/4 cup milk, warmed

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 sticks butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

8 oz. Belgian pearl sugar (the Lars pearl sugar comes in 8 oz. packets)

Toppings:
 Berries, sliced bananas, whipped cream, ice cream, Nutella, chocolate, cookie butter, etc.

1. Warm milk in microwave for 15-30 seconds until it reaches 110 degrees F. Stir the yeast into the warm milk and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. In a stand mixer with dough attachment, add the flour, salt and cinnamon; mix together slightly.

3. Add the milk/yeast mixture, butter and eggs. Combine well. Lastly mix in the vanilla.

4. Scrape batter into a bowl (making sure dough is fully incorporated), cover and allow to rest and rise for 30 minutes. (Dough will be thick and slightly sticky.)

5. Preheat Belgian waffle iron and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
6. When ready to cook waffles, mix in 8 oz. of pearl sugar into the batter with your hands until evenly distributed.
7. Scoop out 1/2 to 1 cup of batter into the middle of the waffle iron, close and cook until lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes per waffle. (You can use as much dough in the iron as you like.)

6. Serve warm with toppings of choice.

*The sugar will caramelize and settle in the bottom of the waffle iron so try to clean it up when it's still hot by pouring in some water and soaking the sugar up with a paper towel.