Cinnamon Roll Liege Waffles – Belgian Sugar Waffles

A rich, buttery waffle with a sweet, crisp caramelized exterior served cinnamon roll style with a sweet cinnamon butter and a pretty icing drizzle.

Today’s recipe is the third recipe that I’ve developed for Red Star Yeast this year. I’ve wanted to make liege waffles ever since I tasted my first Belgian sugar waffle at Bruges Waffles in downtown Salt Lake City.

The secret to the Liege waffle is the Belgian Pearl Sugar, which melts when the dough is baked and creates an amazing crisp sugar crust on the outside of the waffle. 

I researched liege waffles and there were lots of great recipes, including several websites dedicated just to the liege waffle.  My goal for my liege waffle recipe was to make it easy to make and ready to eat in the morning.

To simplify the recipe, I wondered if I could eliminate scalding the milk, and I went to the Red Star Yeast website for the answer.

It used to be that scalding milk was necessary to kill bacteria that might affect the yeast activity and to alter a protein in the milk that played havoc with the gluten structure in bread. However, pasteurization has protected us from harmful bacteria and has altered the proteins, so scalding milk is no longer necessary.

Another step I eliminated was proofing the yeast. It’s not necessary, unless you’re concerned about the freshness of your yeast. Red Star Yeast keeps me well stocked with fresh yeast, so I knew my yeast would work its magic.

Another change I made was to make the dough with my stand mixer. The mixer does all the work and the dough comes together quickly. Then you just leave the dough covered on the counter to rise overnight.

Sugar waffles are sweet enough to enjoy without any topping, but I recently had a Cinna-luv waffle from the Waffle Luv food truck that was heavenly. So I decided to serve my liege waffles cinnamon roll style too with a sweet cinnamon butter and icing.

My sons weren’t home when I made these waffles. So I put several in the freezer and sent them home with my daughter the next time she visited. She said they were ridiculously good, and she couldn’t get them off her mind.

I couldn’t agree more. Liege waffles are craveable. If you haven’t tried a Liege Waffles (Belgian Sugar Waffles) you need to buy some Belgian Pearl sugar and get cooking.

Cinnamon Roll Liege Waffles - Belgian Sugar Waffles

Yield: 8 servings

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) Red Star Active Dry Yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup whole milk 120°-130°
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 8 oz package Belgian Pearl Sugar

Cinnamon Butter

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Icing

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 or 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Make cinnamon butter and icing and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and salt. Add milk, butter, and honey to flour mixture. Beat 1 minute at medium speed. Mix the eggs in one at a time until well blended. Mix in vanilla.

Switch to the dough hook and gradually mix in remaining flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough, add more or less flour as necessary.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest on the counter overnight.

The next morning, punch down the dough and knead in the pearl sugar. Divide dough into 8 pieces and shape each piece in to a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let pieces rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat a Belgian waffle iron on medium heat (3.5 worked perfectly for me). Brush waffle iron with melted butter and cook one waffle at a time until golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Cinnamon Butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar, corn syrup, and cinnamon. Beat until light and fluffy.

Icing

In a mixing bowl, beat powdered sugar and milk until smooth.

Spread each waffle when it’s hot with Cinnamon Honey Butter and a drizzle of icing.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Red Star Yeast, but all opinions expressed are always my own.  You can also find Red Star Yeast on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.