Jess Thompson’s Apple Fritter Waffles with Maple Glaze

Ingredients

For the waffles:

2 tsp. (1 packet) active dry yeast

1 cup very warm water

¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. ground mace

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the apples:

4 medium tart apples, chopped

½ cup sugar

Juice of 1 large lemon

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the glaze:

3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ tsp. corn syrup

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. maple extract

1/3 cup maple syrup

¼ cup hot water, plus more if needed

Directions

The night before you plan to serve the waffles, make the batter:

1. Whisk the yeast, water, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar together in the work bowl of a stand mixer and set aside for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ¾ cup sugar, baking powder, mace, cinnamon, salt, and flour. Set aside. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla to the foaming yeast mixture. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for about 1 minute, breaking up and melting the butter. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients about a third at a time, mixing until blended and scraping the sides down as necessary. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (You can also make the batter an hour or two before serving and let it sit at room temperature, covered, for about 1 hour before making the waffles.)

Apples:

1. Combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a frying pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts, the liquid evaporates, and the apples are soft and beginning to disintegrate, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the apples to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate them, and reheat before serving the waffles. (You can also make the apple compote in the morning.)

2. In the morning, make the glaze: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a large bowl with a whisk), blend the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, salt, vanilla and maple extracts, maple syrup, and hot water until all of the sugar has been incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary. (If the glaze seems to thick, add a little hot water, a teaspoon at a time.)

Waffles:

1. Preheat a Belgian-style waffle iron to the “crisp exterior” setting (or follow manufacturer’s directions). Add a heaping cup of batter, and cook for 2 minutes, until golden brown.

2. Break the waffle into 4 pieces and dip one side of each waffle into the glaze. Place two waffle squares glazed side-up on each of two plates, and top with some of the apple

3. compote. Serve immediately, then repeat with the remaining batter, glaze, and compote.

Reap the bounties of this season with this scrumptious “Apple Fritter Waffles with Maple Glaze” recipe, adapted from Jess Thomson’s cookbook, Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts: Secrets and Recipes for the Home Baker. “Imagine the allure of a hot apple fritter—heady cinnamon, sweet glaze, and yeasty dough with just the right amount of chew. Here they are in waffle form, slathered with a maple syrup glaze that lets waffles and donuts meet in the middle without the mess of frying,” Thomson says. To streamline your morning, make the batter and the apple compote the night before you plan to serve the waffles.