This waffle recipe with applesauce relies on a classic baking swap, replacing some of the oil and all of the eggs with applesauce. Despite the lack of eggs and oil, this recipe produces surprisingly fluffy waffles that aren’t too sweet.
A Short History of Applesauce and Canning
Cooks have relied on apples to add sweetness to their recipes since Roman times. Roman cookbook author Apicius, for example, references a pork recipe with apples. In the middle ages, cooks reduced apples down to a thick sauce for preservation. The first recipes for applesauce on its own, however, don’t appear until 1739, when Eliza Smith printed a version in her “Compleat Houswife”. Applesauce may have benefitted from technological innovations around canning and food preservation that followed shortly. Nicolas Alpert invented a process for hermetically sealing and sterilizing jars of food in 1809, in response to a call from the French Government to develop new methods to make food last longer. At the time, since microscopy was in its infancy, Alpert did not understand why the process work. 50 years later Louis Pasteur was able to explain that the heat killed the microorganisms in the food, allowing it to stay fresh for much longer. An unopened modern pasteurized jar of applesauce will stay good for an astonishing 1-2 years.
Applesauce in Baking
Applesauce cakes were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. The cake was widely promoted during WW1 as patriotic, since it replaced difficult to obtain items like eggs, sugar, and oil, with applesauce. In the 20th century, as health became more of a focus, bakers experimented with replacing oil and sugar with applesauce, with happy results.
Favorite Waffle Toppings
Chocolate chips are a perennial favorite of the chocoholics in our house. This recipe is only mildly sweet, so it’s most delicious sprinkled with some powdered sugar or and cinnamon, or topped with a little bit of maple syrup.
Waffling About
Looking for more waffle recipes? Look no further!
Useful Tools for Making this Waffle Recipe with Applesauce
Obviously, you’ll need a waffle iron! In the market for a new waffle maker? Check out our in-depth analysis of useful considerations in buying a new waffle maker. Too lazy to read our post? Here are the top 2 waffle irons we found:
A Waffle Recipe With Applesauce
Equipment
- waffle maker
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk or non-dairy milk of your choice almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk would all be good milk alternatives here
- 1/2 cup applesauce we like to use unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Fire up your belgian waffle maker.
- Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) in a large bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients (milk, applesauce, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla) into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour enough batter to cover the surface of the preheated waffle iron (about 1 cup of batter in our case). Cook waffle batter according to waffle iron instructions until golden brown and crispy.
- Eat immediately or, if you are making waffles for a crowd, keep waffles warm in a preheated oven (150 F) until you are ready to serve.
Notes
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