VMF 6-5: Not the average waffle

The making and eating of Liege waffles involves so many things I enjoy. It's made from yeast-risen dough. It's sweet and riddled with pockets of caramelized sugar. It's made in a waffle iron (one of my favorite small kitchen appliances). It reheats easily and beautifully in a standard toaster (another one of my favorite small kitchen appliances). If not for the hassle of cleaning either molten or crystallized sugar from the waffle iron--because it's a tough balance between trying not burn the skin right off one's hands and waiting so long for the iron to cool that the sugar hardens into stubborn masses--I would probably make these waffles more often than I do. If moderation is a good thing, then it's also a good thing that the stars align to make these waffles a relatively rare treat around here.

I slightly modified this recipe, using flax "eggs" (milled flax + warm water), nondairy milk, and vegan "butter" as substitutes for their respective, non-vegan counterparts. I also substituted half the flour with white whole wheat and reduced the amount of "butter" to a half-cup, which really does seem like enough to achieve a buttery, crisp waffle with tender interior. Only about a combined cup of crushed sugar cubes and Swedish pearl sugar went into the dough, as I am often intimidated by the full written amounts of sugar many recipes include. One cup was plenty--certainly enough to make those waffles sparkle.