Cinnamon Raisin Waffles

I like waffles because they're crunchy. That also happens to be the exact reason why my husband does not like waffles- they're crunchy.

We had a snow day today. Sometimes its fun being a teacher because no matter how old I get, I can still enjoy the snow days when school is unexpectedly canceled. Now if I can just manage not to think about all we have to get done in class...

In honor of this snow day, I decided to make waffles. They are really only a special occasion food around our place, so a snow day is a great day to make waffles.

I was in the mood for something a little different than the typical waffle, and this is what I came up with. It's one of those recipes where I combined two or three different recipes all into one to make my own. I do that a lot, which makes it hard to recreate recipes sometimes, unless I manage to write them down or blog about them.

These waffles were delightful. They were very crunchy and flavorful, and went along wonderfully with a little peanut butter and some Nutella. I am a yogurt-on-waffles kind of girl, but since we are snowed in and I am out of yogurt, we went the maple syrup route instead this morning.

Cinnamon Raisin Waffles

1 3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Turn on your waffle iron and allow it to preheat while you make the batter. 

2. In a glass measuring cup or a small bowl, combine the milk and the vinegar. Stir once, then set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until light. Add the soured milk, the melted butter, and the vanilla. Whisk to combine then set aside. 

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and the raisins. Mix together until the ingredients are fully incorporated, making sure that the raisins to not clump together. 

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir gently to combine until there are no dry streaks remaining. 

5. Pour a scope of the batter onto the hot waffle iron. Cook according to you waffle iron. Serve with fruit, yogurt, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Enjoy! 

*If you do not want to use the whole wheat flour, just substitute it for regular all-purpose flour. The milk and vinegar could also be substituted for buttermilk. It's up to you! 

Recipe mostly adapted from Betty Crocker. 

Pirouette Cookies

It's crazy how life sometimes piles up, then you blink and wonder, "Where did all the time go?" I keep looking back over the past few months, and then the past year and several years and I am a little in awe of all that God has brought me through. Looking back gives me hope for the future because I can see how He has been faithful before and I know He will be moving forward. That is something I am very grateful for.

My Grandpa Dale died the week before Christmas. We were very close and had been my entire life. Even though the following weeks were hard, I have found that the times I have missed him the most are completely unexpected and sudden, and all within the last month or so. Like when I'm standing at the grocery store and suddenly smell an assortment of things that remind me of my grandparents' house. Or when I find myself singing some old song, then sadly realizing that if I can't remember the words, I have no one to ask. I miss him in the little things.

At Christmas time, I was going to do a whole series of Christmas cookies, but with everything happening the way it did, I didn't get around to it. Then life started in full swing in January and I am still a few months behind. I noticed the other day that I still have a couple pumpkins and a few very Christmas-y things sitting around my apartment. Time keeps ticking, but it stands still at our place.

On the Saturday before Christmas, I made a couple hundred cookies for families at church. I love how long days of baking make you exhausted but so satisfied at the same time. I also spent some time baking before we went home, which is when these lovely little cookies made their debut.

As I have probably mentioned before, I need something crunchy to dip in my coffee. Or my tea. Or hot chocolate. Or whatever hot beverage I happen to be enjoying at the time. It's like Oreos and milk. Or bacon and eggs. You CAN do one without the other, but why would you?

These cookies are especially crunchy and have the perfect balance of vanilla and chocolate. They soak things up nicely and tend to not fall apart so easily. I rolled mine on the handle of a wooded spoon, but I think I am going to get a small wooded dowel for the next time I make them since the wooden spoon made them just a little larger than I wanted. I am also planning on experimenting with a filling of some sort, too, and probably something chocolate or hazelnut to mimic the Pepperidge Farm pirouettes.

Pirouettes
Makes about 16

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour

Dark chocolate, for drizzling

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Place a non-stick baking mat on a cookie sheet, and place it in the oven to preheat also.

2. In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and egg whites until very light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat again to combine. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour and beat just until it is combined.

3. Place a scoop of the dough in a glass measuring cup and heat in the microwave for about 8 seconds to warm the dough and make it pour easily.

4. Remove the preheated cookie sheet from the oven. Use a spoon to pour about a tablespoon of dough on the cookie sheet in 4 or 5 spots on the sheet. Make sure that they are well spaced. Then tilt the cookie sheet to get the dough to spread around in a thin, flat circle. Make sure the dough circles do not touch.

5. Bake the cookies for 4 to 6 minutes, or until they are just starting to brown and turn golden around all edges. Remove the pan from the oven, and immediately roll a cookie around a small wooden dowel or the handle of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to burn yourself!  The cookie will be very hot.  Place the rolled cookie on a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Work quickly to role all of the cookies before they cool.

6. Heat another scoop of dough in the microwave again and repeat the process. When the cookies are cool, dip or drizzle with chocolate. Enjoy!

*If you are having a little trouble envisioning all the steps, the recipe I used has good step by step pictures you might want to check out.

Recipe adapted from The Chocolate Gourmand.