A delicous and healthy Fall inspired breakfast for the whole family to enjoy! My little ones love these whole wheat pumpkin waffles and I hope you will too!

These waffles smell and taste of pumpkin and it nearly uses an entire can of pumpkin puree which I love. In fact there is only a few tablespoons left that could be used to make a few homemade pumpkin spice lattes to enjoy with your waffles! Hey, you already have half the ingredients out, so you might as well while the waffles are cooking!

MAIN TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE:
-Go through the trouble to beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold them into the batter. Because pumpkin is a heavy ingrident, you really need the fluffy egg whites to help keep the waffles from getting too dense. -Use a hot enough waffle iron so the waffles cook all the way through and to use a belgian waffle iron if you have one. -Take care not to overfill the waffle iron. The batter is a little tricky to spread because it's thick but don't just keep adding batter because it will squirt out if you add too much! -Also, these waffles are more filling because of the pumpkin and the whole wheat flour, so it may only take 5-6 waffles to fill you up (don't automatically double it). I have a healthy appetite (especially at breakfast) and I couldn't finish 2 even though they were delish! My husband ate 2 and my little kids each ate 1/3. So double or triple if you need to but just don't plan on everyone needing 3 waffles like a regular white waffle.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffles
Makes 5-6 large Belgian Waffles (serves 3 adults)

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
2 T pumpkin spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs seperated (2 yolks/2 whites)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup whole milk
4 T melted butter
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Directions
Preheat waffle iron (preferably a belgian). Put cooling rack iside a baking tray and set in the oven on the warm setting. Mix tegether dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Seperate the egg whites into another bowl or standing mixer and beat them to stiff peaks, set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingridents (except the egg whites), adding the butter last so it doesn't crystalize when it touches the cold milk.
Pour the wet/pumpkin mixture into the dry ingridients and gently stir to combine and no flour pockets remain. Fold in the egg whites gently until no white streaks remain. The mixture will be stiffer than a traditional waffle. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the mixutre (for a standard, single belgian waffle iron) onto the preheated waffle iron and gently push the batter close to the edges until the iron is nearly covered. Be careful not to overfill (I've done this many times) because it will expand and squirt out of the iron. Cook on a medium-high setting for the first waffle and test the doneness. Because it is a thicker batter, it will take longer to cook and won't get crispy as fast. Keep finished waffles warm in the oven on the cooling rack to keep them from getting soggy on the bottom. Serve with whipped cream or maple syrup and a pumpkin spice latte!