Coconut Brown Butter Waffles

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It's Mother's Day. My mom is in Michigan. I'm not.

I wish I could have made her brunch today. I would have made her these coconut brown butter waffles.

My mom is the one who introduced me to waffle making. She's had her waffle maker for years, and she's got a family waffle recipe that's to die for. It's complex, filled with whole wheat flour and bran and lemon zest.

Some of my favorite days as a kid were the days my mom made those waffles. We'd wait for the familiar whistle of the waffle iron, and we'd marvel as the stack of waffles grew higher and higher.

Most weekends it was the regular bran waffles, but occasionally my mom would shake things up. She'd throw in chopped nuts (I certainly didn't appreciate that as a kid), or mix in pumpkin in the fall and make them really special.

I always ate them syrup free, topped with butter or the occasional bit of almond butter. 

We ate breakfast and dinner together every day and lunch when we weren't at school. I feel so lucky to have learned from her the importance of families sitting down and eating together and sharing so much more than food.

Mom, I wish I could sit down and eat breakfast with you today! I love you!

Did you get to eat with your mom today? What did you make her?




Coconut Brown Butter Waffles
adapted from Daydreamer Desserts

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup plus two tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
unsalted butter, for the waffle iron

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring regularly until the butter browns and smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer from the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt, whisking until well combined.

Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Pour in the buttermilk and the egg yolks. Whisk the wet ingredients together with the dry ingredients until just combined.

Add the browned butter and coconut, and whisk until well combined.

Preheat waffle iron. 

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter in two batches.

Grease the waffle iron with butter. Pour about 3/4 cup batter into the iron (adjust according to the capacity of your machine). 

Cook the waffles according to your machine's instructions.

Eat all the waffles immediately, or layer them between pieces of plastic wrap and freeze them until you're ready for them.