Yeah, I know. The fifth chai recipe in just a few weeks. What can I say? I’m obsessed! When I made these paleo gingerbread waffles using my Homemade Chai Spice Blend, I was surprised how close it came to traditional gingerbread spices! You still get that familiar taste of ginger, cloves, and cinnamon with a little bit of something extra — that you can’t put your finger on, but you love it.

My 5-year-old was home from school that day so I put her to work. I can’t believe how lanky she’s getting. Those arms, man. And it still surprises me how fair she is since I’m rather dark and my husband is a quarter Mexican with jet black hair and olive skin — the only blonde-haired, blue-eyed member of our family. Our little ball of recessive genes.

OK, don’t hate me for this, but splitting the eggs and whipping the egg whites separately is really the best option for waffles. If you REALLY don’t want to do it, you can just put them in whole, but I feel like the waffles are floppier that way and don’t have as much fluff.

Also, I can usually get an extra waffle or two out of the batch because whipped egg whites creates more volume in the batter.

I swear, I’ve been making waffles for most of my life and almost every batch will have at least one waffle that spills out the sides. *facepalm*

I don’t know why I keep overestimating my waffle iron’s capacity. We were gifted a Belgian waffle iron when we got married that lasted about a decade. When it died I replaced it with a traditional waffle iron. (this Cuisinart waffle iron which is inexpensive and gets the job done. I would love to spring for this double Belgian waffle iron, but…. storage space.)

It took me a while to get used to putting half as much batter in my new iron. Overfills ALL. THE. TIME. And a few years later I’m still doing it. Can anyone relate or am I just destined to have a crusty waffle iron my whole life?

Want to know a secret? Don't stack your waffles. It'll make them soggy faster.

Put them on a wire rack on a cookie sheet, and try not to overlap them too much. Then put them in your oven on the warming setting. It'll keep some of that fresh-from-the-iron crispness.

No, this isn't leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. (Our leftovers went the way of Paleo Orange Cranberry Bars. Twice.)

I actually bought more cranberries (At Costco. *Facepalm* Triple batch it is!) to make some paleo Wassailed Cranberry Sauce so I could put it on these waffles. It was a round about way of getting what I wanted, but it was worth it!

And now I have over a quart of extra cranberry sauce for something else. But if we're being honest here, it'll probably end up on a couple more batches of these paleo gingerbread waffles.

I mixed the cranberry sauce with some whipped coconut cream to make a creamy sweet-tart topping for my waffles. If you can handle some dairy, I highly recommend using real whipped cream.

A sprinkle of pomegranate arils was the perfect touch!

These waffles are on the sweet side because I was anticipating a more tart topping. If you decide to serve them with something sweeter you can hold back on the sweetener in the waffle batter.

Or not. #Christmastime

Chai Paleo Gingerbread Waffles with Pomegranate & Cranberry Cream

Yield: Makes 6 round waffles

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

These aren't ordinary paleo gingerbread waffles -- chai spice gives them a familiar flavor with a hint of something interesting. And cranberry cream? *Swoon*

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Ingredients

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• 1 cup tapioca flour
• ½ cup blanched almond flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1 Tablespoon Homemade Chai Spice Blend
• 6 Tablespoons coconut sugar or preferred dry sweetener
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ⅓ cup molasses
• ½ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 cup prepared cranberry sauce
• 1 cup coconut cream, whipped (see note)
• Arils from 1 large pomegranate

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, chai spice, coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt.
2. Separate the eggs, putting the yolks into the bowl with the dry mixture and the whites in a separate, smaller bowl. (Don't mix in the yolks quite yet.)
3. To that bowl, add 3 eggs, applesauce, molasses, almond flour, and coconut oil. Mix it together only after you have added all of the wet ingredients.
4. Whip the egg whites using an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form.
5. Add the whites to the batter and GENTLY fold them in using a rubber spatula, scraping from the bottom and folding the batter over. The batter will be fluffy and aerated when you're done.
6. Cook the waffles in a heated waffle iron sprayed with non-stick spray (I like coconut oil spray) according to the manufacturer's directions.
7. Clean off your beaters and then use your hand mixer again to whip the coconut cream, if it's hard. Beat until it's smooth and soft. Stir in the cranberry sauce and set it aside until ready to use.
8. Serve the waffles with a dollop of cranberry cream and a sprinkle of pomegranate arils.

Notes

Nat's Notes:

1. You can find canned coconut cream in some grocery stores or online. If you have trouble finding it, you can use the separated cream from 2-3 cans of chilled coconut milk.

2. If you put the cranberry cream in the fridge for a while before eating it will harden again. I recommend just letting it sit out if you plan on eating soon. Or prepping it immediately before eating.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made by using these links doesn’t cost you any extra and helps to keep my content free.

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The post Chai Paleo Gingerbread Waffles with Pomegranate & Cranberry Cream appeared first on Perry's Plate.

I REALLY hope you saved some leftover cranberry sauce for these orange cranberry bars. I used my Wassailed Cranberry Sauce, but you can use any prepared cranberry sauce -- bonus points if it has some orange flavors in it.

These would be a good snack to take with you while you're shopping all weekend. Are you a Black Friday fanatic? I wasn't until recently -- if you stay away from big discount stores, department stores, and electronic stores it isn't so bad.

I mostly hit up the fabric store. It might seem like a nightmare waiting in line at the cut counter, but it's not bad -- at least at ours. They've got the young ones working on Black Friday so it's actually faster than it is on a regular day with the 120-year-old women doing the cutting.

Either way, having something to munch on would be nice.

I prepped the dough in my food processor! You can use a bowl and a hand mixer if you like, too. Either way it's a one-bowl deal. One of the benefits of alternative baking is that overmixing isn't as much of an issue because you aren't using wheat flour. I use my processor a lot for stuff like this.

This dough is actually a tweaked version of the Big Chocolate Chip Cookie dough from my paleo slow cooker cookbook with some orange zest.

When you spread the dough in the pan it'll seem like there isn't much there, but it'll puff up when it bakes.

Mmm. I never knew how much I could like cranberry sauce. My Wassailed Cranberry Sauce has a mix of spices mimicking . . . wassail. (My recipe naming abilities are pretty fantastic, right?) It goes so well with the orange in the crust!

Then you mix the reserved dough with the cranberry sauce to make it all swirly like.

Talk about smelling good. These cranberry bars are WAY better than a scented candle.

Honestly, I loved them better chilled. They're also easier to cut and handle with they're cold. Also somewhat crumbly, but even at room temperature you can get them out of the pan pretty easily.

Since they're paleo friendly you could take them to someone who eats gluten-free or is mostly paleo for a holiday treat!

More Paleo Dessert Bar Recipes on Perry's Plate

These Paleo Samoa Cookie Bars are DELISH and bonus -- there are NO nuts in this recipe! These Girls Scout cookie knock offs are such a great grain-free dessert.

If you're wanting something rich and fudgy, make some Paleo Chocolate Chip Fudge Bars. They remind me of the swirled oatmeal fudge bars I ate as a kid.

Flourless Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars only have 5 ingredients! Use any kind of nut butter you like if peanut butter isn't your thing.

Also, check out this round up of Gluten Free Christmas Cookies over at What the Fork for more gluten-free (and probably easily adaptable) Christmas cookie recipes.

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Paleo Orange Cranberry Bars

Yield: 15 bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

I REALLY hope you saved some leftover cranberry sauce for these orange cranberry bars. They're especially good with my Wassailed Cranberry Sauce!

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Ingredients

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• ½ cup palm oil shortening (see note)
• ½ cup almond butter
• 6 Tablespoons coconut sugar or honey
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10-15 drops vanilla stevia
• Zest from 1 large orange
• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• ⅓ cup tapioca flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup leftover Wassailed Cranberry Sauce (or prepared cranberry sauce)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a food processor prep bowl (or large mixing bowl with a hand mixer) combine the palm oil shortening, almond butter, coconut sugar, and coconut oil. Process until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla extract, stevia, and orange zest. Pulse until smooth.
3. Add the almond flour, tapioca flour, salt, and baking soda. Blend until smooth.
4. Transfer ¾ of the dough to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Add the cranberry sauce on top and spread that evenly, too. Add the remaining dough by spoonfuls on the cranberry sauce, and use a knife to swirl the dough around with the cranberry sauce a bit. Make sure that there isn't too much dough piled up around the center -- push it toward the edges of the pan if necessary.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let the bars cool completely before slicing. (Chill them if you have time and they'll stay together more easily. I preferred them chilled!)

Notes

Nat's Note: Be sure to find palm shortening that is made from 100% palm oil and not a combination of palm and coconut oils. The consistency of the bars won't be the same if it's not 100% palm oil.

The post Paleo Orange Cranberry Bars appeared first on Perry's Plate.