The perfect snowy day breakfast! Cozy hot cocoa waffles made gluten and dairy free with all the yummy hot cocoa flavor!
The coziest time of the year!
I’m just about the beachiest beach bum that lives in Michigan. I live for our powdery Lake Michigan shoreline in the warm months of the year, but I truly have Michigander kids. They just love the snow, and will play outside in all kinds of weather. Even though we enjoy a lot of snow here, getting school canceled for snow days are pretty few and far between, so when we do, a cozy breakfast is always on the agenda! We haven’t had any really big snows yet this season, but I thought I’d share a fun snow day breakfast since I think it would also be super fun to serve for Christmas morning too!
A new spin on a household staple
Our gluten free protein waffles have become a blog favorite, as they are a staple in our weekend breakfast rotation meal plans, as well as make frequent appearances in my Monday #RGNSchoolLunch posts on Instagram in sandwich form! Last winter, I used that recipe to play around with the idea of a chocolate or “hot cocoa waffle,” and the girls had fun eating them on a few snowy mornings. I picked up this adorable snowflake waffle maker a few weeks ago, and just had to show you how to make this easy, festive breakfast for the kids!
The Method :: The eggs
Egg separating is key to any fluffy waffle or pancake. For this recipe, you’ll want to separate your eggs, being very careful not to get any part of the yolk into the bowl that has the egg whites. The egg whites will fluff up the best when there is absolutely zero yolk in the bowl. And that fluffy egg white whip is what magically makes these waffles have the most amazing texture.
The Method :: Finishing the Waffle Batter
Once your eggs are separated, and the egg whites are whipped until fluffy, you’ll blend the yolk mixture and combine that with the dry ingredients. After that, fold the fluffy egg whites in, and you’re ready to make waffles! When folding the egg whites into the batter, be very gentle so the egg whites don’t deflate – take your time, and it will eventually be combined!
The Method :: Cooking the Waffles
This waffle batter will work on any waffle iron. You don’t need a fancy snowflake waffle iron…but if you have a chance to get one, they sure are cute! It’s a fun way to dress up the waffles in a way that doesn’t take any extra time, or junky ingredients! I have found that for these kind of mini waffle makers, about 1/4 cup of batter is just enough to fill up the iron, and not spill over the edges. My regular waffle maker, this ceramic waffle iron, takes about 1/2 cup of batter for reference. Just cook the waffle batter until the edges are crispy, and transfer to a wire rack while you make the rest.
What do they taste like? (How “chocolatey” are these?)
I think these hot cocoa waffles have a mild, kid friendly chocolate taste. If you want a richer chocolate flavor, you can double the cocoa powder – I have done this and love it! When you add more cocoa powder, you tend to need to balance that bitter flavor with more sweetner, so I like to pull it down so that I don’t have to sweeten these much. I would say as is, these are pretty kid friendly. If your kids are used to much sweeter foods, you may want to increase the coconut sugar amount or add a few splashes of maple syrup to the batter mix.
Topping ideas!
We love to go with the hot cocoa theme and top these waffles with whipped cream topping. I don’t even put the syrup out on these guys! I do tend to take the short cut of using the So Delicious brand Coconut Whipped Cream, but you can make your own whipped cream so easily. Just pour your coconut cream (or regular cream if you tolerate dairy) into a bowl with a splash of maple syrup and blend until fluffy. Whipped cream is one of my tricks to avoiding the inevitable syrup drowning that ends up happening on waffle or pancake day. I also think that a smear of peanut butter or almond butter tastes amazing. Chocolate and peanut butter – what’s not to love?!
Freezer friendly?
Absolutely! I have been freezing our original waffle recipe for years, and they are one of my favorite make ahead meals. This hot cocoa spin on the waffle recipe freezes just as well, so go ahead and make them up ahead of time for that holiday brunch, or for the unexpected snow day you might get this February!
Let’s talk waffle irons!
I just think the snowflake is so adorable on the snowflake waffle maker, and the size of these mini waffles are so great for little hands. They make really good leftover sandwich breads too! I do have a ceramic waffle iron that is regular sized as well if you are looking for more that size. I have been using that waffle iron for 8 years and it still works great. I like to use this avocado oil spray for the first batch of batter that goes in – I get this at Costco.
Gluten Free Hot Cocoa Waffles
Ingredients
- 4 eggs separated
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Namaste GF Flour Blend
- ½ cup Blanched Almond Flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder can go up to ½ cup here for more richness
- ¼ cup coconut sugar can go up to ½ cup here if you want them sweeter
- ¼ cup cold soluble grassfed collagen optional
- 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Separate the eggs into 2 small mixing bowls, being careful to not have any little bit of yolk in the egg whites. If there is anything else in the bowl with the whites, they will not whip fluffy properly. To the egg yolks, add the coconut milk, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
- Blend the egg whites until fluffy, and then blend the egg yolk mixture until smooth.
- Put the rest of the ingredients (the dry ingredients) into medium mixing bowl. Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients, and blend until combined.
- Gently fold the fluffy, whipped egg whites into the blended batter until just combined – if you over fold/stir, the fluffy egg whites will deflate.
- Spray your waffle iron with avocado oil spray, and cook according to your waffle iron’s directions. If you are using the “Dash” Mini Snowflake Waffle Iron as pictured above, I have found that about ¼ cup of the batter works perfectly. If you are using a waffle iron like my regularly used, ceramic waffle iron, you’ll use ½ cup of the batter.
- We like to top our hot cocoa waffles with the So Delicious brand Coconut Whip! There is a coconut whipped topping in a can at Aldi and Trader Joe’s as well. Or you can make your own by whipping coconut cream with maple syrup until fluffy!
Notes
- You can swap the coconut sugar for maple syrup or honey if you want.
- The “chocolatey” flavor and sweetness of these waffles is a mild, and kid friendly. If you want a richer chocolate taste, add more cocoa powder. If you need them sweeter, you can add more coconut sugar.
Oh my kids will absolutely love me if I make this for breakfast. Saving to my phone.
I am sure they will love them! Enjoy!
My son said these waffles were “the most amazing thing” he had ever eaten! 🙂 We topped them with peanut butter, homemade whipped cream, a little drizzle of syrup, and chopped walnuts. Also, I subbed regular wheat flour for the GF flour blend and used regular milk. The ones I froze have been a real treat on cold school mornings for my son! Thank you for another fabulous recipe!
Hi Betsy! Thank you so much for the tips! That will be helpful to so many! I’m so glad your son enjoyed that – that really makes my day!
Hi Renee, i want to try this recipe and was wondering if i could swap the gf flour with oat flour?
Hi Stephanie! Oat flour will behave quite differently than the GF blend in this recipe – it could work, but would take some adjustment of the amounts and some playing around with!
Have you tried making these egg free? My kids’ systems don’t love egg whites (yolks are fine) wondering if I could try whipping some aquafaba to mix in.
Hi JJ! I’ve not done this recipe egg free – there are quite a few to replace in there! I do remember having a reader use aquafaba for my original waffle recipe saying it worked good, and this recipe is quite similar so I’m thinking it could work!
I used the egg yolks as directed. I happened to be making chickpeas this week so ended up using my homemade aquafaba in replacement of the egg whites. While I did get my aquafaba to whip up by the time I folded it in it had basically fizzed? and wasn’t really fluffy. I think that’s because I used a dash of cream of tartar while whipping the aquafaba so it probably reacted with the baking soda. Either way I did end up making the waffles using a standard size waffle maker and they turned out well!
I would like to try applesauce as a full egg replacement since I don’t make chickpeas that frequently but wonder if I try recreating the cream of tartar/baking soda to get that “fizz” and help it be more fluffy.
Thank you for the great egg free tips! That is so helpful for those that are egg free! I’m glad you enjoyed the waffles!