Apple Spice Waffles -- The Right Cake for the Right Moment

Fall equinox. Went up to the Crazies for a full day — not hunting yet, just scouting. The big bull is confirmed: a six-point, heavy, using the drainage the same way the previous year's bull used it. He came to the spring at dusk and I watched him from two hundred yards in the timber. He doesn't know I'm there. He'll know in three weeks.

Cole met with an accountant this week about setting up his own business entity — the first concrete step toward his independent practice. He told me Friday and I could see he wasn't sure how I'd receive it. I said it was the right step and I meant it. He said he'd like to keep two of my current accounts in an arrangement where I stay available for technical backup. I said that was fine and also unnecessary — once he's independent, he's independent. He said he'd think about it. I think he'll keep the arrangement for a year and then not need it, which is the correct arc.

Dr. Crain asked me this week about intimacy again — specifically whether my understanding of what I'm afraid of had changed since the summer. I said yes. She asked in what way. I said I'd been afraid of being seen and left again, and that the fear was real and based in experience. But that the experience it was based in was incomplete — it included Sarah and Jen but not Linda, not Tom, not Cole and Emma, not the community that has formed around the writing and the rescue work. I've been seen by a fair number of people in the last few years and I'm still here. That's evidence that the worst case isn't the only case. She said: Exactly right.

Made apple cake from the windfall apples — diced, folded into a simple batter with cinnamon, baked until the top cracks. Ate it warm with coffee on the equinox morning. The right cake for the right moment.

The apple cake I wrote about was made from windfall apples — simple, unplanned, the kind of thing you do because the morning asks for it. When I want to give that same feeling a little more structure, Apple Spice Waffles are where I land: the same warm cinnamon, the same unhurried sense of a morning that belongs to you, but with enough intention that it feels like a choice rather than an accident. On a morning when I’d been honest with Dr. Crain, when Cole had taken a real step forward, and when the bull elk was exactly where I expected him to be, something warm and spiced and made with care was exactly the right way to start the equinox.

Apple Spice Waffles

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced (about 3/4 cup)
• Cooking spray or additional butter for the waffle iron

Instructions

1. Preheat the iron. Heat your waffle iron according to manufacturer instructions. Lightly grease with cooking spray or butter.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and brown sugar until evenly combined.
3. Combine wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Fold together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix.
5. Whip the egg whites. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks using a hand mixer or whisk. Gently fold into the batter in two additions to keep it light.
6. Add the apple. Fold in the diced apple until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
7. Cook the waffles. Pour enough batter to fill your waffle iron (about 3/4 cup, depending on size). Close and cook until golden brown and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.
8. Serve warm. Serve immediately with maple syrup, a pat of butter, or a spoonful of warm apple compote alongside a strong cup of coffee.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 370 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 310mg