Sweet Potato Waffles

Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and are full of good for you antioxidants.  Pack all of that into a delicious waffle and you've got yourself the perfect breakfast- delicious and good for you (and let's face it, that doesn't happen often).  These waffles are great topped with maple syrup, whipped cream, candied pecans......or all three.  This recipe will make 6-8 big waffles, so if you only need a few, do yourself a favor and throw the rest in the freezer for a quick breakfast on a rushed morning.  All you need to do is pop one in the toaster.

I make my own sweet potato puree by piercing a sweet potato with a fork, wrapping it in foil, and baking it in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Then I scoop out the flesh, and throw it in the food processor to puree it (you can also use a hand mixer).  You can also buy it in a can, but make sure you buy 100% pure sweet potato puree without any added sweeteners or flavoring.  If you have the time, it's easy and much cheaper to make your own, so it's worth it. 

• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 Tb baking powder
• 2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 1 1/2 C milk
• 1/2 C pureed sweet potato
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinammon
• 2 Tb agave nectar
• 1 Tb brown sugar

Preheat and lightly grease your waffle iron.

In a small bowl, combine the sweet potato puree, brown sugar, egg yolks, and agave nectar.  Set aside.

In another small bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks have formed and the volume has tripled.  Make sure their is absolutely no egg yolk in the whites or else the whites won't whip properly.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and cinammon.  Slowly add the milk and mix using a hand mixer.  Next, add the sweet potato mixture and thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.

Lightly fold in the egg whites.  This will make your waffles light and fluffy.  To fold, use a spatula and start at the far end of your bowl, scrape from the bottom and fold over the top into the middle.  Continue to do this, turning the bowl a quarter turn each time, until all the egg whites are combined.

Pour the batter into your waffle maker.  IMPORTANT- do not overfill!  Each section should have only about 1/2 C or less of the batter.  It might not look like a lot, but it will increase in size as the batter cooks, just like a cake would.  If you overfill it, you will have a huge mess on your hands and the waffles will be raw on the inside.  I know from experience, it once took me almost two hours to clean all the crevices of my waffle maker. 

My waffle maker beeps when the waffles are done (how awesome is that?), but if yours doesn't, buy a new one.  Just kidding, they cook for about 3-4 minutes and should be golden brown when finished.