Banana Waffles

Topped with Caramel Popcorn and Nutella

One thing you probably didn’t know about me: I love caramel popcorn. When its around, I can’t stop eating it… and why would I want to? This love of caramel popcorn is something that my young nephew and I have in common, so for his birthday Hamid and I got a little creative. We originally used the popcorn Nutella topping on a batch of cupcakes, and it was such a hit at his party that we decided to try it on a waffle.

This recipe is a little fancy for preparing on a groggy Saturday morning before the coffee kicks in, but the good news is that most of it can be prepared in advance.

For the caramel popcorn:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups popped popcorn

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 minutes (the sauce will be very bubbly, this is normal).

3. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over the popcorn, stirring to coat. I like to put gloves on and mix it with my hands – but be careful because the sauce is very hot.

4. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

For the banana waffle:
2 bananas
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
1 cup Nextjen Sprouted Gluten-free Artisan Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix

1. Mash bananas, sugar, and vanilla very well with a fork until it is almost liquid.

2. Stir in melted butter and milk. Add Nextjen Sprouted Gluten-free Artisan Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix and stir until juts combined. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate.

3. Ladle batter onto lightly oiled 350 F waffle iron and allow to cook until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.