[2] If you don’t have light brown sugar (in photo) and need to substitute dark brown sugar, the final product will have a more robust taste and a darker color. It might slightly affect the texture (photo © Webstaurant Store).

[3] If you don’t have the three spices listed, you can substitute pumpkin pie spice. In addition to cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, it has allspice, nutmeg, and mace. The latter three will add a bit more spiciness (photo © Silk Road Spices).

Here’s a nice surprise for the long Christmas weekend: gingerbread waffles. Prep time is just 15 minutes, plus 15 minutes to cook.

Imported fresh blueberries are pricey in the winter, so feel free to use frozen berries or other, more affordable berries.

To make pancakes instead of waffles, follow the recipe below and reduce the milk to 1/4 cup.
 
 
RECIPE: GINGERBREAD WAFFLES WITH
BLUEBERRY-ORANGE SAUCE

Ingredients For 8 Servings

For The Waffles

 
For The Blueberry-Orange Sauce

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the sauce: Combine the blueberries, juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

2. REMOVE from the heat or keep warm until ready to serve. If you use a small (1-quart size) saucepan, the sauce will thicken without overcooking.

3. STIR together the flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk in the eggs, milk, and butter until smooth. Stir in the blueberries.

4. POUR one cup batter onto the center of a greased, heated waffle maker. Bake for about 5 minutes or until the steaming stops. Remove carefully.

You can serve the waffles hot from the iron, or keep them warm by placing them on a rack over a baking sheet in a 200°F oven while preparing the remaining waffles.

5. SERVE with warm blueberry-orange sauce.