Are you looking for something to make your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day? or maybe for your kids? These Red Velvet Waffles with Cream Cheese Icing are such the perfect treat for the loves in your life!

I knew I didn’t want to use red dye in my recipe.  So I challenged myself to think of foods that are red in color, that my family would eat and that I could incorporate into my waffles.  Not only was I looking to get that color you see in a red velvet, but one that would taste great too.  There are actually several options that you could use in place of the red dye such as:

• Cranberries
• Red Beet Juice
• Red Beet Powder
• Pomegranate Juice

None of those sounded appealing to me when I was thinking of adding them to my waffles.  I then thought of strawberries but didn’t think they would give that punch of red I was looking for. I then remembered how much my son loves cherries.  I knew I could puree them but wanted to give them a little liquid so naturally I then thought I should try to find some Cherry Juice.  So I went searching for the perfect cherries and juice.   Now, I knew that I did not want to have to remove the pits from each little cherry so I made sure to look for cherries that were already pitted.   I found some nice Organic dark cherries in the freezer section of my supermarket.  I stored them in my fridge so they were thawed out and ready for me to use.    I simply added my pureed cherry juice to my batter to get that nice red coloring.  Great news, it worked very well.  Even better, they gave the waffles such a great boost of flavor and with the icing piped on top, no syrup needed.  For a finishing touch, I topped the waffles with a few extra cherries and a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar to garnish each plate.  So pretty, your Valentine will be so impressed!

Red Velvet Waffles w/Cream Cheese Icing

Makes about 10 servings

Ingredients

Icing:

6 oz, Cream Cheese, softened

6 Tablespoons, Butter, softened

2 Cups, Confectioner’s Sugar

1 Teaspoon, Pure Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup, Whole Milk

Waffles:

2 1/2 Cups, All-Purpose Flour

3 Tablespoons, Sugar

3 Tablespoons, Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons, Cocoa Powder, unsweetened

4 Teaspoons, Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon, Kosher Salt

2 Eggs

1 3/4 Cup, Buttermilk

1/3 Cup, Butter, unsalted & melted

1 Tablespoon, Pure Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon, Distilled White Vinegar

1/2 Cup, Dark Cherries, pitted

1/2 Cup, Cherry Juice

Instructions

Making Red Velvet Waffles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat Waffle Iron.

Make the icing:  in a mixer, whisk the cream cheese and butter until nicely combined.  Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar until all combined.  Then add the vanilla and mix well.  Slowly add the milk and use anywhere from 1/2 Cup of milk to 1 cup, depending on the desired constancy.  *See additional note below.

Cherry Juice

Make the Cherry Juice:  I bought a bag of frozen dark cherries.  I thawed them out prior to making my juice.  In a blender, add the cherries and cherry juice.  I found a bottle of Cherry Juice in my local supermarkets juice aisle.  Blend/puree until nice and smooth.  Set aside.

Make the Waffles:  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and set aside.  In a mixer, add the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, distilled vinegar and whisk until all combined.   Add the cherry sauce and mix well.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Whisk just until all ingredients are mixed together.

Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray.  Add about 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup of your batter to the iron (since all waffle irons are different sizes, add as much batter as needed for your iron).  Close lid and set timer for about 5-6 minutes.  Remove waffles from iron, cut, plate and pipe icing onto the waffles.  Top with a few of the cherries and a drizzle of the cherry sauce/juice.  Sprinkle with some confectioner’s sugar and serve.

Mangia! Enjoy!

Notes

Icing:  I wanted my icing to be a little thicker so that I could put it into a piping bag.  If you want the icing to be more of a glaze that you can drizzle over top of the waffles then I would add more milk to it.  That will help to thin it out and allow you to drizzle it.  You can add up to an additional 1/2 Cup of milk.   I also made my icing the night before and stored in the fridge.  When I was ready to make my waffles I filled a piping bag with one of my decorative tips with the icing.  I piped the icing onto each waffle.  If you do not have a piping bag you can use a plastic baggie and just cut off on of the bottom edges.

Cherry Juice:  I made the cherry juice the night ahead, placed into a mason jar and stored in the fridge.  When I was ready to make my waffle batter, I took the mason jar out of the fridge, shook it up really well and then incorporated it into my batter.   I used the cherry juice as a substitute for red dye (food coloring).  It gave the waffles great color as well as another layer of flavor.