Liege Waffles

One of our favorite things to do when we lived in Utah, was to go to Salt Lake City and eat at Bruges.  Bruges makes Belgium waffles and frites (french fries).  Now, they aren’t what you think of when you think of Belgium waffles.  These are liege waffles.  They are made with a yeast dough.  They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  They are often served with speculoos, which is a cookie butter – kind of like a graham cracker in spreadable form.  Also, topped with ice cream and fruit.  The possibilities are endless, really.

One thing that I must mention, you need pearl sugar.  Pearl sugar, as you can see in the picture are small chunks, the size of a pebble, of sugar. It is hard to find in grocery stores so I buy mine on amazon.  You add this to the dough at the very end and it gives the waffles that special crunch and adds some sweetness because the dough is not a sweet dough.  I have tried to substitute with regular granulated sugar but, trust me, it doesn’t work.  You could try with crushed sugar cubes.  I have never done it myself so I am not sure how successful it would be.  You just want the pieces to be about the size of a pebble.  I recommend to just order yourself some pearl sugar.

We love to top our waffles with ice cream and fresh fruit.

Playing with your food is always fun, right?  You can order a Monster Waffle at Bruges.  We decided to create our own last night.  I think they turned out pretty good!  That cookie butter nose was yummy.

I wanted to put an update here that I made these with Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour the other day and they turned out great.  I used the exact same measurements for regular flour.  The dough didn’t rise as much as my batch with regular flour in the same amount of time, but when cooked, it was fine. You will need to spread out the dough so that it presses evenly on the waffle iron.

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Liege Waffles

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  These rich waffles are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Serve with fresh fruit or a nutty topping.  

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 pkg yeast
• 1/3 cup lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 Tbls sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup pearl sugar

Instructions

1. Mix yeast, water, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast activates and becomes foamy.

2. Place flour in the bowl of a mixer and make a well.
   

3. Pour in the yeast mixture and vanilla. Mix with a dough hook.
   

4. While mixing, add one egg at a time, alternating with 2-3 tablespoons of butter.
   

5. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
   

6. Let rise for 1 1/2-2 hours.
   

7. Gently mix in pearls and let rest for 15 minutes while the waffle iron heats up.
   

8. Place 2/3 cup of mixture on the waffle iron (I use rectangular shaped iron) and cook for 3-5 minutes, until golden.