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Weekend mornings are one of our favorite times to make a decadent breakfast. After seeing some great strawberries and blackberries at our Whole Foods (California-grown), we were inspired to make these strawberry-balsamic waffles with candied pecans.
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The recipe was pretty simple; we followed the basic waffle recipe from the Joy of Cooking, choosing to use 8 Tbsp of butter. They have three levels of butter for the recipe: 4 Tbsp("for a reduced fat waffle"), 8 Tbsp ("for a classic light and fluffy waffle) and 16 Tbsp ("for the crunchiest, most delicious waffle imaginable.") I can't believe we didn't make the 16 Tbsp waffle, really I can't. Actually since there is an exponential increase in the deliciousness with butter usage, Justin wondered what 32 Tbsp of butter could do for a waffle?
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For the candied pecans, we used evaporated cane juice sugar and heated it in a pan. When it started to melt, we added the pecans until toasted and coated in carmelized goodness. These are also great on salads.
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As for the strawberry-balsamic sauce, we added 2 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 2 Tbsp of evaporated cane juice (sugar) and a few diced strawberries. After letting it cook a bit, we tossed it into a blender and blended it a bit on low. We cooked it down- perhaps even a bit too much because it thickened upon cooling.
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And the waffles were delicious! Topped with the fresh strawberries, candied walnuts and the strawberry-balsamic sauce, we enjoyed these on the patio under the California sunshine.