waffle my world: banana bread waffles.

If you're saying that you won't jump at the chance to whip out your waffle maker when you see a recipe for  Banana Bread Waffles, you're lying.

I didn't lie to myself that I didn't want to make these. If a dense, banana-packed banana bread can be morphed into an enticing waffle shape, heck yeah I'll do it.

I was so excited, which is why I'm sad to say, I'm so disappointed.

These waffles hardly bore any resemblance to the banana bread we know and love. It's not noticeable that they are "banana bread waffles" save for the few lumps of banana scattered randomly throughout. The parts of the waffles that did not have any bananas tasted bland. I needed tons of maple syrup to go with these. The spices used weren't detectable at all, and the waffles were disappointingly soft. 

I hate to burst your bubble with my comments but I shall not deter you from trying this out for yourself. Just a note though, the batter is extremely extremely thick- almost like bread dough. I added extra milk to thin it down, but you could also add in more mashed bananas to bolster the banana flavour. 

Banana bread waffles are a great idea, but it just needs a few tweaks to get it right.

Banana Bread Waffles
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recipe taken from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. warm milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1½ tsp. yeast
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground clove
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 whole bananas)
2 tbsp. sour cream or Greek yogurt

Directions: 
In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, warm milk and vanilla extract.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, yeast, salt and spices.   Whisk together to blend.  Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and whisk just until smooth.  Whisk in the eggs until incorporated.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, and up to 24 hours.

When you are ready to make the waffles, remove the batter from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  It should be about doubled in size and there should be small bubbles on the surface.

Add the mashed bananas and sour cream or yogurt to the batter.  Whisk lightly to incorporate into the batter.  Cook in a preheated waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Serve as desired with maple syrup and banana slices.