Makeover Monday: Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Do you ever watch infomercials and think, "Yeah, that will work when pigs fly?"  I love the ridiculousness of them and truly appreciate the cheesy lines and bad acting.  Last weekend I made an infomercial-worthy breakfast.  If I were to write an infomercial for these unbelievabley amazing cinnamon roll waffles it would read something like this:

"Want to make an amazing homemade breakfast that will wow all of your family and friends this holiday season and make you the talk of the town?  Then try the new, unbelievable, cinnamon roll waffle.  Regular waffles are okay, but they are loaded with refined flour and oil (insert image of supermodel looking disgustedly at a pile of overly greasy waffles).  Cinnamon rolls are delicious, but they take hours to make and don't always turn out.  Who has time for that?  (insert image of exasperated-looking woman, covered in flour, rolling out dough).  Introducing the whole grain, low fat, perfect solution to your breakfast problem--the cinnamon roll waffles.  Now you can enjoy the cinnamon roll taste everyone loves, in an easy to make, healthy waffle."

I could keep going, but I'll stop it there.  Look out Hollywood!  I know that, just like every infomercial, this claim that you can have the taste of a cinnamon roll in a waffle that takes about 15 minutes sounds ridiculous.  But sometimes stuff you hear on TV isn't too good to be true.  Just ask anyone with a Snuggie.  I'm serious about this.

I have made oatmeal cinnamon roll pancakes before.  For those, I made a butter/cinnamon/sugar mixture (like what you would put on cinnamon roll dough) and added it to the pancakes while they were cooking.  I tried doing the same thing with waffles, but it didn't work out.  The cinnamon-sugar mixture just burned on the top of the waffle iron.  So, I borrowed someone else's idea and made the waffles (using whole wheat flour and applesauce instead of oil), then topped them with both the cinnamon-sugar mixture (with a bit less sugar) and the same cream cheese glaze (with reduced fat cream cheese) I used for the cinnamon roll pancakes.  Bingo!

These are blow-your-mind good!  The waffles were perfectly soft and fluffy.  I poured the hot cinnamon-sugar mixture and the cream cheese glaze on them, and let them sit there for a minute.  The result was that they sort of melted together and softened the waffle.  So the whole thing was like the yummy, gooey, perfection of the center of a cinnamon roll.  The sky could fall on me, but if I am eating these cinnamon roll waffles, I am having the best morning ever.  I probably wouldn't even notice.

So make some today!  If you don't absolutely love this recipe, send it back for a full refund.  I'll even pay your shipping and handling.  You have nothing to lose and great taste to gain!

Cinnamon Roll Waffles
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp Splenda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 cup fat free buttermilk (or 2 Tbsp vinegar with skim milk to make 2 cups)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Topping:
1/2 cup trans fat free margarine, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
For the cream cheese glaze:
1/2 cup trans fat free margarine
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
To make the waffles:  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center of the mixture and set aside.
In a separate bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until eggs are foamy.  Add to dry ingredients.  Stir just until moistened (batter will be slightly lumpy!).
Preheat waffle iron and spray with nonstick spray.  Bake waffles according to manufacturer's instructions.
Meanwhile, prepare cinnamon topping: In a medium bowl, mix melted margarine, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Scoop the filling into a small Ziploc bag or a squeeze bottle and set aside (or just prepare the mixture in a large microwave-safe glass!).
For cream cheese glaze: Melt together margarine and cream cheese.  Whisk until smooth.  Sift in powdered sugar and whisk again until smooth.  Stir in vanilla extract.
To serve: place warm waffle on plate and drizzle with cinnamon topping.  Then drizzle on cream cheese glaze.
Serves 4.

Recipe adapted from Recipe Girl