Liege Waffles

I first encountered Liege waffles on TV, on a travel show that was talking about a waffle stand that is only accessible to customers by skiing. It is located at the bottom of a ski slope somewhere in Europe, and the little waffle stand is run by a cute couple who specialize in these wonderful treats. Skiers waddle up to the stand and order their waffles, which is eaten plain by hand, wrapped in some paper, as they waddle off to the ski lift for another trip down the slopes.

These waffles are not your normal Belgian waffles that you encounter in the US. They are made with a butter-and-egg-rich yeasted dough (close cousin to a Brioche dough) that is studded with large grain pearl sugar, which caramelizes in little pockets on the surface of the crisp, fluffy waffle. They are common to find in Belgium at street vendors for an on-the-go snack, apparently, but haven't really found a foothold here in the US as far as I can tell.

I mistakenly tried "yeasted waffle" recipes, thinking they might be similar to this legendary waffle, only to find that American yeasted waffle batter is even soupier than normal buttermilk waffle batter, and although they make tender and tasty waffles, they were not what I was looking for.

Then in the last year, we happened upon two opportunities to try authentic Liege waffles locally. One was at the Point Brugge Cafe in Point Breeze, where they feature it on their brunch menu. Then a little Liege waffle stand opened up in Squirrel Hill, by name of Waffallonia. Both of these waffles were really yummy, and we were delighted at the chewy, bread-like quality of the interior that is in contrast with the crunchy sweet exterior. And add some Nutella or ice cream? You've just hit the satisfying dessert jackpot.

Some careful Googling brought me to a recipe that seemed to fit the bill. This person had done meticulous research into old recipes to wrangle together a somewhat complex/time consuming recipe, but one that promised caramelized, crispy outsides and fluffy, buttery insides. Finally after hoarding this recipe for a long while, I finally took the time this past winter break to give it a shot.

A peek inside the waffle

To say the results were successful would be a bit of an understatement. These waffles are even more amazing as the ones we had in the restaurants, and what's better is we can mass produce them! We ate an entire batch in two sittings when we first made them, and then this weekend I made a double batch to ensure plenty of leftovers for freezer storage. 

These are the king of waffles. If you ever get a chance to eat one, or make them, you will not regret it!

Here is the awesome recipe, which I will not do the author the disservice of rewriting it here as he took so much time to work it out and give helpful notes. I pretty much follow the recipe as written, except I decreased the pearl sugar amount to 1/3 cup per 1X recipe. My few notes are as follows:

1) I purchased my pearl sugar from King Arthur Flour.

2) Our $10 wafflemaker has again saved the day and produced FABULOUS results. We divide each recipe into 6 waffles rather than the recipe-stated 5. The cooking time is pretty much comparable to normal waffles on our maker, but I would just caution that you should keep an eye on the waffles on your first batch to prevent burning. Worst case scenario, if they brown too fast but are not cooked all the way through, you can probably finish them in the oven at a moderate temperature.

3) I was able to double the recipe and have it work fine in my 5-quart Kitchenaid. Any more and it would be too much dough for the capacity of the mixer. I separated the dough into two plastic-wrapped packages for the overnight rest.