Spiced Pumpkin Waffles and The Pumpkin Shortage

Back in September I got wind that their might be a shortage of pumpkin. I had read that the Midwest had received some heavy rains so the pumpkin crop was pretty much destroyed. I had been in and out of the grocery store up until Thanksgiving and I saw plenty of Libby's Pumpkin, so i thought nothing of it. 

Well Christmas came around and my little guy requested his favorite Pumpkin Brownies as he calls them. They're not brownies at all, but a Pumpkin Sheet Cake W/Cream Cheese Frosting. That sheet cake is so delicious and I'm some what of a pushover when it comes to my little guy Carson, so off I went on Christmas eve to get some pumpkin. 

I stopped at two grocery stores and no pumpkin. I even stopped by the nearest dollar store and still no pumpkin. It wasn't until then that it dawned on me maybe this is the pumpkin shortage that everyone was talking about.

I just assumed everyone claimed stake to all the pumpkin over the Thanksgiving Holiday, so that was why I was unable to find any. I made one last stop at Tom Thumb and found two lonely 29 oz cans sitting on the shelf, so  I grabbed them both.

You see we are pumpkin eaters all year round not just in the fall. I only needed a cup so I had some leftover. Pumpkin freezes really well so I now have some in the freezer. A couple weeks back I got a new Belgian Waffle Iron and I was dying to try it out. 

I remembered seeing a recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Waffles at Country Living. My kids love Pumpkin Pancakes so I thought they might like the waffles as well. This recipe has buttermilk in it and I love cooking and baking with buttermilk. 

Plus with the list of ingredients I knew they had to be good. The waffles turned out light, fluffy with the perfect flavor of pumpkin.  In the end my kids loved them and so did I. Now I have another pumpkin recipe to add to my collection. You can bet the next time I see pumpkin at the store I will be stocking up for the rest of the year. So far I have not seen any. 

Since writing this post I've been making my own pumpkin puree which is so much better. Click here view my post on how to make your own pumpkin puree from sugar - pie pumpkins. 

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

Ingredients:

2 1/2 - cups all-purpose flour

1 - tablespoon baking powder

2 - teaspoons cinnamon

1 - teaspoons ginger

1/2 - teaspoon baking soda

1/2 - teaspoon salt

1/2 - teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 - teaspoon cloves

4 - large eggs

2 - cups buttermilk

1 - cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)

1/2 - cup dark brown sugar

1/4 - cup unsalted butter, melted

1 - teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat a waffle iron. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside. 

Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. 

While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth. 

Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and cook the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.

Recipe source: countryliving.com