Whole Wheat Apricot Waffles

I have come to the sad realization that my apricot trees only want to bear fruit every other year, and the same with my mom’s. Do they have the courtesy of producing in opposite years of each other so we can always have fresh apricots? Of course not, so rude.

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Thankfully our trees have grown to the point of producing a lot in the years they bear fruit and so now I plan ahead and save enough to last by either freezing or dehydrating them (and yes, you can freeze foods for a very long time if you properly store them). Much of the fruit I freeze gets pureed together in a massive mixed-fruit smoothie to be frozen in popsicle molds for enjoying during our hot summers, or slathered onto dehydrator sheets to become fruit leathers for a quick, healthy, and tasty snack.

However, there’s always a stockpile of fruit that gets kept to be turned into some sort of baked goods. I know what you’re thinking, why don’t I just do that when the fruit is fresh? Oh, don’t worry, I do that, too! The problem is that we can only eat so much, and heating the house on a regular basis during the summer is just a really bad idea.

None-the-less, the allure of of fresh picked fruit is a pretty strong one and I am regularly on the lookout for ideas on how to enjoy the literal fruits of our labor (aside from just eating them right off the tree). I’m also on the hunt for recipes that aren’t completely loaded with sugar. I like my sweets, but I also like fitting into my clothes. These waffles are the perfect solution. They have a hint of sweetness and spices to bring out the apricot flavor, but a base of whole wheat and Greek yogurt to keep them a little more humble. And since waffles like to hang out with syrup and butter, you can make them as sweet as you would like, or maybe not at all!

Some quick notes before you begin:

Feel free to substitute peaches or nectarines for the apricots in this recipe, or a mix of any of these fruits. They are fairly similar in moisture, texture, and taste so it will still work well. Frozen fruit will also work, but don’t defrost them. Allow them to soften only enough to cut them.

Be sure to chop your fruit into smaller pieces since the batter will be going into a waffle maker. Don’t worry about exposed pieces of fruit as they will still get cooked and in fact will caramelize in the process. Yes, it’s very yummy.

If you don’t have a waffle iron, you can make these into pancakes very easily. You will simply need to add a little more milk to make the batter thinner. I would recommend adding 1/2 cup of milk to the recipe.

Any leftover waffles will freeze very nicely. I put them on a rack to cool completely, then package them up into a plastic container. They go into the toaster directly and come out nice and crisp!

If you can’t find whole-wheat pastry flour, simply substitute with equal amounts each of all-purpose flour and regular whole wheat flour.

I make my own Greek yogurt and often strain it until it is really thick, usually far thicker than store-bought. To compensate, I will add a little milk until it is the same consistency of commercial sour cream for use in recipes like this. If your yogurt is a little thinner, that’s fine, but if it is thicker than sour cream add milk to your yogurt to adjust, then measure out 1/2 cup of the thinned yogurt for the recipe.