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

23 comments

Julia Ladewski said…
that looks A-Maz-ING!!!!!!! wow!
Many of our muffin, quick bread, and biscotti staples are pumpkin-based too. So I've been trying to pick up a can or two here and there to get us through until production picks up again. I'm glad I've frozen some as well. Hopefully the pumpkin crop will be fabulous this year...

Your waffles, by the way, look and sound delightful.
Oops! Forgot to mention that I posted a new Paula Deen muffin recipe today. PB Oatmeal Muffins. So good and easy!

And I know you love her too ;D
Mmmm, sounds delish! I will definitely be giving this one a try! BTW, I made your marshmallow brownies last night and they were a hit!! My 16 y.o. son was in heaven and has requested that these be a staple in our house from now on! Thanks for all the great recipes you share with us.
Hugs,
Donna
These look so good! I love Pumpkin year round too. Thanks for stopping by my blog today- I frequent yours quite often!
The JR said…
I know it won't be quite the same, but if you can't find pumpkin what about mashed sweet potatoes?

Thanks for your great blog.
Heidi said…
Yummy! I had trouble with our grocery store... they had the pumpkin that was already ready to be put in a pie with the spices and sugar, but they didn't have the solid pack pumpkin. I want to try Carsons favorite "brownies"!!
tinahead81 said…
oh, wow! i need to go get me a waffle iron! lol those look sooo good!
Ted said…
We put up a bunch in our freezer this year from the garden. It worked out great...except we are using it too fast.:)
Oh those look so good! We gifted one of our kids with a waffle maker for Christmas. I sent a link to your blog and to the recipe for them to try. Thanks so much!
Leslie said…
well did you know there was an Eggo shortage as well???
Pumpkins and Eggos..who would have thunk it??? lol
Andrea Maddiex said…
Hello! My name is Andrea. I have been a lurker here for some time, I really love your recipes. My hubby works for the Kroger here in Arkansas and they were told there would be no canned pumpkin available until August of this year. I was hugely bummed as we are big on pumpkin here too.
D Martinez said…
Those look wonderful :-) If you have not posted that first picture with Foodbuzz yet, you REALLY should!!! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Tina Butler said…
Oh goodness Leslie my little guy loves his eggos. The things we learn.
Shannon said…
I made these this morning to put in the freezer for this weeks breakfast. They smelled so good my daugher had to have 1 and then another. Thanks for posting this!
came across your blog when i googled a recipe for homemade jello pudding pops! now you're on my blog roll... looking forward to trying your stuff! i especially like your monthly menu planning links...
thank you!
Tina Butler said…
Shannon I am so glad you liked them. I froze the reamaining ones for the kiddos b4 school. So easy just to pop in the microwave.

Val welcome!!! I look forward to seeing more of you. Thanks for adding MK to your blogroll. I am off to check out your site.
Am going to try some of your recipes one of these days. Just to let you know, I was just at a Wal-Mart today, and still no pumpkin on the shelf!!!!
Lois
Michelle said…
I made these today, and everyone loved them! My husband, who shuns orange foods like pumpkin and sweet potato, even tried them and said they were good. Thanks for the recipe - love your blog!
Unknown said…
Love your site! Saw this recipe and had to try it. As we all also LOVE pumpkin anything here. The pictures looked so yummy! Everything I have tried on your site has turned out great so far too...so hoped for the best in trying this one out too! However, they turned out absolutely horrible. They did not at all turn out 'cake-like'...as depicted in your picture next to the fork. Would not at all recommend making this recipe...waste of time and good ingredients (and money). However, any additional tips or suggestions you could post on the site...to ensure the recipe turns out exactly the same...would be appreciated! Really wishing it would have turned out.
Unknown said…
Hi,
I made these for my family today and they turned out great. They were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. My husband and girls loved them. We are big eaters and we still have plenty of waffles left over for breakfast this week. I plan on sharing this recipe with friends and family. Thanks again Tina for another great recipe.
Krista
I'm so glad you reminded us of this...I love pumpkin AND waffles and can't imagine this tasting anything but delicious!!!
I made this this weekend for my famly and we loved them!! Wrote a post about them.....
http://www.cookingwithlibby.com/2010/11/spiced-pumpkin-waffles-giveaway-for.html

Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!