Liege Waffles

For the inaugural recipe of LemonGlaze, I'm choosing the best waffle I've ever made or eaten. A few months ago during a time of extreme duress, my husband and I took a much needed weekend getaway to downtown Salt Lake City. Having lived near Salt Lake City for nearly my entire life (minor detours taken to Portland OR, Rochester MN, and Austin TX), I figured there wasn't much to see or do here that I haven't already seen and done dozens of times. I was dead wrong.

On the first morning of our trip we visited Bruges Waffles, and my life has never been the same. I dream of the sweet, crisp, savory morsels nearly every night. We enjoyed our waffle so much that we went back to Bruges for dinner, passing up PF Changs, Olive Garden, and about a dozen other of our favorite restaurants.

I finally gathered my courage, borrowed a Belgian Waffle maker, scouted out pearl sugar (hint: IKEA), and attempted what I thought was the impossible - recreating the Liege Waffle from Bruges. My friends, I was successful!

Liege Waffles

From: www.food.com

1 package yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup (two sticks) butter, softened
1 cup pearl sugar

Mix yeast, water, sugar and salt, and let develop for 15 minutes. Place flour into a large bowl. Make a well, pour in yeast mixture, begin to knead. You might start to panic at this point, and at several points during the kneading process. I am here to tell you, it's going to turn out fine. It really will, I wanted to give up but I am so very glad I pressed onward. Continue to knead while adding eggs, one at a time. Continue kneading while adding the butter, 2 tablespoons each addition, mixing well.

Let dough rest until doubled in size (approximately 1 hour). Gently mix in pearl sugar. Let rest for 15 minutes. Separate dough into balls of 3 tablespoons dough mixture. When your Belgian Waffle Iron is hot and ready, place dough ball in iron. Cook 3-5 minutes until waffles are lightly brown on top (this only took three minutes in my waffle iron). Serve warm with Creme Fraiche and Belgian Chocolate. Or, if you are like me and you didn't realize that Creme Fraiche has to sit for nearly an entire day, serve with fresh whipped cream and melted chocolate chips. Still nearly as divine.

Also, I'm doing you a favor and NOT posting the calorie count on these waffles. I promise they are worth it, and very much so.