Bring a taste of Belgium into your kitchen with these Liege Waffles! A wonderful special breakfast or afternoon treat, these yeasted sugar waffles are irresistible.
When you need a special breakfast, these Liege Waffles are the answer! Some other favorites are these French Toast Cups, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, or this Overnight French Toast Casserole.
I have had a love affair with liege waffles for some time now. We have a local place that makes amazing liege waffles with all of the toppings. And we always go crazy for them.
They have always been a special treat, so I figured that I might as well make some at home so I could share them with others, right?
I have seen many recipes where you can bake the waffles the same day they are made, and many that require an overnight proof. I decided to go with the overnight proof for a few reasons. First, if I want them for breakfast, there is no way I’m getting up at 3am to start waffles. It’s so much easier for me to do all the work the night before, then just have to bake them up in the morning.
What is Pearl Sugar?
These waffles require a specific ingredient that you can’t skip out on – Belgian Pearl Sugar. You can’t skip it. The sugar is what totally makes these waffles. It melts in the waffle, creating these little pockets of deliciousness.
But what is pearl sugar?
Pearl sugar is a type of specialty sugar that is used in baking. You can tell by looking at it that it does not look like your regular granulated sugar. Because it’s not!
Pearl sugar is made by compressing sugar together into larger “chunks” of sugar. It is more popular in Europe (especially Belgium and Sweden). It won’t dissolve in your baked goods because of the size of the pearls. The Swedish pearl sugar tends to be smaller, perfect for topping baked goods to give them a nice crunch. The Belgian pearl sugar is slightly bigger – perfect for liege waffles! The sugar will slightly melt and caramelize as the waffle cooks, leaving a slightly crunchy, delicious little sweet pocket of flavor.
It is sometimes harder to come by in the United States. I usually buy mine at a specialty store, but you can order pearl sugar on Amazon as well. (Affiliate link.) I have also heard of people crushing sugar cubes to substitute, which is much cheaper, but I haven’t tested that.
How to Make Them
- MAKE THE DOUGH: Combine the milk, sugar and yeast and let it bloom. Add the eggs and butter, followed by the sugar, vanilla and salt. You’ll start adding the flour, but just enough to make it smooth. It will still be slightly sticky, but should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- LET IT RISE AND REST: Let the dough rise until doubled, then refrigerate the dough overnight.
- ADD THE PEARL SUGAR: The next day, take your dough and knead in the pearl sugar carefully.
- BAKE: Divide the dough into portions, then bake them on your waffle maker. Make sure to read the tips and tricks section below, as it has more information about baking the waffles.
- TOP AND ENJOY: Top your warm waffles with your desired toppings and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Most home waffle makers cook way too hot and the outsides of the dough will be cooked before the sugar has a chance to melt in the waffle. If you have a waffle maker that allows you to control the temperature, turn it down to around 360º and cook until they are golden brown. If your waffle maker is like mine, and only has one heat setting (HOT!), I found that the only way I could get them to cook a little longer without overcooking or drying out was to turn the waffle maker off after I had added the dough. It was a bit of a pain, but totally worth it in the end! With the waffle maker on the whole time, I was only cooking them about 2 minutes, but with turning it off, I could stretch that to 4 1/2 minutes, and the sugar was able to melt nicely. My waffle maker does have 2 sides, so I could bake 2 at a time, so that helped as well. You’ll have to experiment with your waffle maker to see what works best.
- These waffles call for bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content, so the end result is a chewier texture to the waffle. If you don’t have bread flour, you can sub in all-purpose flour. The result won’t be exactly the same, but it will still be similar.
- These are definitely best when they are served warm – so be prepared to serve them right after they are made.
Best Liege Waffle Toppings
The sky is really the limit when it comes to toppings, but here are a few of our favorite liege waffle toppings:
- Nutella
- Cookie Butter
- Peanut Butter
- Fruit – bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- Reddi-wip
- Chopped Nuts
- Chocolate Syrup
More Waffle Recipes
If you are looking for a traditional waffle recipe, this Best Waffle Recipe is the only one you need!
My husband loves these Blueberry Waffles the most!
These Red Velvet Waffles with Cream Cheese Drizzle are perfect for a holiday morning.
Have ripe bananas? Skip the banana bread and make Banana Waffles instead.
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Liege Waffles
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Rise and Rest Time: 9 hours
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 10 hours
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Waffle Iron
- Cuisine: Belgian
Description
Bring a taste of Belgium into your kitchen with these Liege Waffles! A wonderful special breakfast or afternoon treat, these yeasted sugar waffles are irresistible.
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 8 oz Belgian pearl sugar (about 1 1/2 cups)
- toppings of your choice (chocolate hazelnut spread, cookie butter, fresh fruit,
- Reddi-wip, etc)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, sugar and milk. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast has bloomed.
- Whisk the eggs and butter into the yeast mixture. Add in the brown sugar, vanilla and salt and mix until smooth and combined. Start adding in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until you have added 3 cups of the flour. Continue to mix until the dough is smooth. The dough will still be sticky, but should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is still not pulling away from the sides after mixing for 2-3 minutes, add up to an additional 1/2 cup of flour.
- Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl. Cover with a towel or a piece of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick baking spray. Let it rise until it has doubled in size, 30 minutes to an hour. Punch down the dough, recover, and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and pour out onto a very lightly floured work surface. With your hands, knead the pearl sugar into the dough. (Be careful, as the sugar is a bit sharp and it may hurt your hands if you are too rough.) Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll into a ball.
- Preheat a waffle maker. (You’ll want a Belgian waffle maker, or a waffle maker that makes deeper waffles. They won’t be the same in a traditional waffle maker.) Slightly flatten a ball of dough and place it in the center of the waffle maker. Close and cook according to the waffle maker instructions*.
- Carefully remove from the waffle maker (the sugar is HOT!) and let rest for a minute or two before topping and serving.
- Waffles are best served and eaten warm.
Recipe Notes:
*Most home waffle makers cook way too hot and the outsides of the dough will be cooked before the sugar has a chance to melt in the waffle. If you have a waffle maker that allows you to control the temperature, turn it down to around 360º and cook until they are golden brown. If your waffle maker is like mine, and only has one heat setting (HOT!), I found that the only way I could get them to cook a little longer without overcooking or drying out was to turn the waffle maker off after I had added the dough. It was a bit of a pain, but totally worth it in the end! With the waffle maker on the whole time, I was only cooking them about 2 minutes, but with turning it off, I could stretch that to 4 1/2 minutes, and the sugar was able to melt nicely. My waffle maker does have 2 sides, so I could bake 2 at a time, so that helped as well. You’ll have to experiment with your waffle maker to see what works best.
Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide. Nutrition information does not include toppings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 waffle
- Calories: 358
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 124 mg
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 88 mg
Keywords: liege waffle, waffle recipe, breakfast, brunch
Christi says
I don’t even have words to describe how great these look, I adore Liege Waffles! What a fantastic idea, your neighbors must adore you!
Chels R. says
Those look so good and I’m pretty sure that is the cutest idea ever. We need to be neighbors!
Jennie @onesweetmess says
This is such a great post. You have the luckiest neighbors. Oh my, these waffles look amazing and so fluffy!
sherri says
Where do you find the belgian sugar pearls at?
Deborah says
I bought mine at a local kitchen store, but I know you can buy them on Amazon. (There is a direct link in the post.) I have also heard that some people have found them at IKEA, but I haven’t looked yet.
sherri says
Thank you Deborah for the help finding these 🙂
cookbook queen says
I have never EVER had a Liege Waffle! I’m dying to try them (but sadly, I’m not sure that the sugar pearls would make it to the batter — ha!). These are SO pretty — and waffles topped with Redi-Whip is my favorite! I love that it’s made with real cream.