Pumpkin-Gingerbread Waffles

For more than a decade, Susan Connolly's family has had these hearty waffles for breakfast on Thanksgiving and Christmas. "We love them; they taste like gingerbread cookies," says the 44-year-old from Baltimore. But now her family wants to eat healthier, and the sugary waffl es are in danger of losing their holiday-favorite status. To prevent that, Nearn halved the amount of sugar and added more pumpkin purée. "The pumpkin gives the waffles natural sweetness and an extra hit of vitamin A," says Nearn.

But she didn't stop there. She topped the waffl es with cranberry chutney instead of maple syrup-a switch that saves more than 20 calories and 5 grams of sugar per tablespoon.

Her final tweak: Substituting an egg and three egg whites for four whole eggs. According to Nearn, one whole egg in most recipes is enough to give the dish the right texture.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 whole egg
3 egg whites
1 ½ cups canned
pumpkin purée
1 cup nonfat milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
extract ½ cup cranberry apple chutney (recipe at shape .com/chutney)

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients. Stir together both mixtures. Pour about one-eighth of the mixture (half a cup) into a standard 8-inch waffle maker and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions, usually 3 to 4 minutes. Serve each waffle topped with chutney.