Unlike regular flour-based waffles, these are hearty and packed with protein. They happen to be gluten free, but never mind that—they taste and smell like heaven. The apples also rock all on their own, served hot right on top of vegan ice cream or oatmeal. Serve these bad boys with lots of maple syrup and a big pat of our Pine Nut Butter.

Ingredients

For the caramelized apples

  • 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 crisp apples of your choice, cored and cut into thin ½-inch-long pieces
  • Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil

For the waffles

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2/3 cup cashew pieces
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons agave nectar
  • 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for serving
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil

 Instructions

  1. Pre-caramelize the apples: Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, sauté the apples for 4 minutes, flipping frequently, until they are very lightly browned. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, maple syrup, evaporated cane juice, and sea salt, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, until the apples are lightly browned. Set aside.
  2. Make the waffle batter: Place the oats in a food processor and process them for about 2 minutes into a coarse flour. Transfer the oat flour to a medium bowl. Process the cashews in the food processor for about 2 minutes, until the cashews are finely ground. Transfer the ground cashews to the bowl with the oat flour and add the all-purpose flour, agave nectar, oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and 1 2/3 cups water. Mix thoroughly to combine—the batter should be thick, almost a very loose dough. Let the batter sit for at least 20 minutes.
  3. Make the waffles: Heat the waffle iron fully. Thoroughly oil both sides of the waffle iron with about 1 heaping teaspoon of coconut oil on each side.
  4. Place about ½ cup of the batter onto the waffle iron, then close and let cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the waffles when they are golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to each side of the waffle iron or each batch.
  5. While the waffles cook, heat the tablespoon coconut oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the partially caramelized apples. Allow them to brown nicely on one side before flipping them to caramelize them completely, about 5 minutes total. The sugars should become deeply brown and gooey.
  6. Place each waffle on a plate Top with the hot apples and garnish with a dash of cinnamon.