Cranberry
Leftover Stuffing Waffles With Cranberry Butter
- Prep time 20 minutes
- Cook time 20 minutes
- makes 4 waffles
Author Notes
This is ostensibly a recipe designed to use up leftover stuffing, but frankly, it’s good enough to feature on the Big Day itself. Everything that makes a great stuffing—custardy insides, audibly crunchy bits—these stuffing waffles have in spades. Stuck in a waffle machine, stuffing emerges with the perfect ratio of burnished divots and soft fences, all the better to capture pools of salty-sweet cranberry butter (made with leftover cranberry sauce!). Most bread-based stuffings will work well in this recipe. My personal favorite is this one. (It has brown butter and lots of it! Need I say more?) Stay away from cornbread stuffings (may fall apart) or those with too many chunky mix-ins like oysters or sausage (may be texturally unpleasant when blended). The rest is fair game. Buttermilk keeps the waffles tender, while baking soda provides the tiniest bit of lift, so they aren’t stodgy. Unlike traditional waffles, these won’t expand and fill the iron as much, so you can really pack it in. My suggestion? Make a whole extra batch of stuffing just so you can have these waffles the next day. You won’t regret it. Between the extra buttery stuffing and nonstick coating on my waffle iron, I had no issues with sticking, but your mileage may vary—have a little vegetable oil handy so you can grease the iron if needed.
Psst, wondering what to do with leftover roast turkey? Try my Leftover Turkey Red Curry. Or mashed potatoes? Behold: Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes With Cabbage, Scallion & Ginger. —Shilpa Uskokovic
Ingredients
- Whipped Cranberry Butter
-
1/4 cup
leftover cranberry sauce
-
1/2 cup
(1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-
1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
-
1/2 teaspoon
finely grated lemon zest (optional)
- Waffles
-
4 cups
packed leftover stuffing (or ½ recipe Brown Butter Stuffing—see Author Notes), roughly chopped
-
2
large eggs
-
1/2 cup
buttermilk
-
1/4 teaspoon
baking soda
-
1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
-
1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 300°F. Place a wire rack in a rimmed sheet pan.
- Microwave the cranberry sauce in a heatproof bowl for 90 seconds, until thick and bubbly; reserve until room temperature, around 10 minutes. Using a hand mixer, whip the cooled cranberry sauce, butter, salt, and lemon zest (if using) on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes; transfer to a serving bowl.
- Place the stuffing, eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a food processor; pulse until the stuffing is finely chopped and the mixture holds together (it will be very thick), around 1 minute. Divide the mixture into 4 portions (a scant 1 cup each).
- Heat a waffle iron to medium-high heat or 375°F. Place one portion of the stuffing mixture in the center of the iron; close the waffle iron, pressing down firmly. Cook until the stuffing waffle is deeply golden brown on the outside, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the waffle to a wire rack and keep warm in the oven; repeat with the remaining stuffing mixture.
- Serve waffles warm with plenty of cranberry butter and a drip of gravy if you happen to have some leftover.
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