Sweet Potato Waffles Recipe

Alton Brown prepares a special recipe for sweet potato waffles.

Alton Brown: As is true of most epics, if the star of our waffles is truly going to shine, it's going to need the aid of many supporting players, three teams of players, in fact. We'll start with the dry team. We're going to sift together two cups of all-purpose flour, along with one tablespoon of baking powder, and half a teaspoon of salt, kosher salt. Now, moving on to the wet team, beginning with one cup of milk, a quarter cup of light brown sugar firmly packed. A quarter cup of butter, unsalted, of course, melted about a tablespoon of grated orange zest. And last but not least, one and a half cups of our star; mashed and steamed sweet potatoes, and stir to combine. Now add the dry team directly to the wet team and stir, but only enough to bring the mass together. You don't want to over-beat it. Now I can already tell that our stars, the sweet potatoes, are really thickening things up. So, like so many stars, they will require a lift-job. This lift-job will come from six egg whites, beaten to medium peaks. Now, I would like to use an electric mixer for this. You could use your arm and a hand whisk, if you have, you know, forearms that look like Popeye. Perfect. Of course, getting this integrated into this thick goo is going to be a little difficult. So I'm going to do it in three installments. First installment, I'm not going to worry about folding. I'm just going to try to stir it in. Try to lighten that up. Now this is where you'll definitely pay the price if you over-beat that mixture, because you'll create gluten in the flour and, ooh, it'll be messy. Now there goes the second installment, starting to fold now, And finally, the remainder of the egg whites. Mix is a lot lighter now and folds. Now since this mixture is so thick, we don't have to pour it with a ladle. We can use a scoop or disher, #20 in fact, two loads full. It's called a 20 because it has a 20 on the little sweep in the middle. It means it's a twentieth of a quart. Now just close the lid and wait for the alarm to tell you that the goodness is ready. Male: Sweetheart, I'll have to get back to you. Call me if Leno calls, all right? Hello, beautiful! Alton Brown: Toppings are, of course, only limited by your imagination. Me, I tend to like a nice, dark amber maple syrup and a few toasted pecans. But, if you're looking for more of a dessert scenario, you could augment that with a little bit of butter-pecan ice cream! Male: Oh I usually eat with my hands. Oh!! Brilliant, Mr. Brown! A breakfast tour de force!