Buckwheat Banana Bread Waffles

My weekends usually include some type of pancake or waffle.  Nick finally convinced me to start making them and ever since, I am obsessed.  They are so delicious and comforting!  There are also endless possibilities of flavor combinations and I hope to explore all of them.  This weekend it is all about bananas.  As a kid, banana bread was my favorite.  My mom made it in bread and muffin form. Either way I would gobble it up.  The combination of banana bread in waffle form is irresistible!     

I have had banana waffles in the past but have never been excited about them.  Most of them did not have enough banana flavor and lacked a certain hearty-ness that I always loved about banana bread. So I got to work in the kitchen.  Three attempts later, I truly had banana bread in waffle form!  I used buckwheat flour to bring a rich, nutty flavor and paired it with whole wheat flour to make these waffles hearty.  To make sure there was enough banana taste I used an entire cup of very ripe mashed bananas. It is extremely important to make sure your bananas are super ripe when making these!  The first time I tried this recipe the bananas were not ripe and I could barely taste their flavor.  I added some almond butter to bring out the nutty-ness of the buckwheat flour and also to replace oil in the batter.  I love almond butter and bananas together!

I topped these waffles off with maple syrup, banana slices, pistachios, pomegranate seeds, and a dash of cinnamon.  Heavenly!  Chocolate chips, toasted walnuts or pecans, and coconut cream all would be great topping ideas as well.  I plan on freezing the leftovers so they are ready whenever the banana bread waffle craving hits next.  So in about three hours . . . ;)

Buckwheat Banana Bread Waffles
vegan, dairy free

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup almond butter 
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs (use flax-eggs for vegan)
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses (regular will work)


Directions:

Whisk together dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl whisk together wet ingredients until blended. Slowly whisk dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Cook according to your waffle iron instructions, add toppings of your choice, and bon appetit!