Buttery, hot, doughy, soft, crunchy and sweet. The only problem I have with these waffles is that I will never enjoy any other waffle again.
My husband doesn’t have ongoing hobbies that he follows with extreme intensity but rather he seems to have spurts of acute interest that burst forth like an itch that must be scratched. Lucky for me, his most recent “obsession” was a quest to recreate the hot sugar waffles (Luikse Wafels) you find for sale on the streets of Belgium. After internet research, a purchase of a new specialty waffle iron and an ingredient hunt, he accomplished his mission this weekend. The above waffles transformed the way I will think about waffles forever. After just one bite, I knew that a perfect Liege waffle would exist on my “Top 10 Foods Ever” list.
Not to be confused with Belgian waffles, the Liege waffle is made with a yeast dough instead of batter and is spotted with large bits of sugar. When cooked in the iron, the sugar chunks melt and create pockets of crunchy sweet on the inside and shiny, slick sugar spots on the outside.
Though he read that you can break up sugar cubes as a substitute, I would suggest you purchase Lars Belgian Pearl Sugar here. These are not the same as Swiss Pearl Sugar. Other than the specialty sugar, the ingredients are so common, it is hard to believe that the outcome is so uncommonly delicious.
You should use a Belgian waffle iron. The pearl sugar is quite large and I think that the Belgian iron allows enough space in the thicker waffle to form those little hot sugar pockets. The new waffle maestro in my house bought this one and it worked beautifully.
Regarding the recipe, we must give full credit here. This is the one that Mr. Whipped decided on after a long, critical online investigation and it was truly perfect.
The dough will be a bit sticky and unlike other waffle batters. Scoop large hunks onto your hot waffle iron. Then, latch the lid and prepare for aroma therapy like no other. Just close your eyes, take deep breaths and enjoy those three minutes in your own, personal buttery sweet smelling waffle heaven.
As soon as the waffles are ready, put them on a plate, let them cool a moment so as to not burn your mouth with the hot sugar and finally… indulge immediately. After you have stuffed yourself (which you are sure to do) you can freeze additional waffles and warm them in a 200 degree oven.
Liege Sugar Waffles
1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm water (about 105 degF – too hot will kill the yeast)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 cup pearl sugar*
Mix the yeast, water, sugar and salt in a bowl and let it develop or sit for 15 minutes. Place the flour in a separate large mixing bowl (we use the bowl of our kitchen aid stand mixer) and make a well in the center of the flour.
Pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix until blended on medium speed (we use the paddle in our kitchen aid mixer). Add the eggs (one at a time), melted butter a bit at a time, and the vanilla and cinnamon. Be sure to mix well after each addition to the batter. Keep in mind the batter will be thick and VERY sticky (this is normal).
Remove the bowl from the mixer and let the dough rest until it doubles in volume inside the bowl. Gently fold in the pearl sugar and let the dough rest for 15 more minutes. While the dough is resting, heat the waffle iron.
Spoon about a 2″ ball of dough into the center of the waffle iron (this should yield a waffle that is about 4″ in diameter). I know that sounds small, but these rich waffles pack quite a punch. Waffles will take 3 to 5 minutes to bake (in our waffle iron, they take 3 minutes and 15 seconds on level 3. Another reader preferred level 4. Play around with it to get it to your liking).
Recipe makes 8 – 10 waffles.
PRINT RECIPE
March 15th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I have been wanting to make these for the last two months! I have my Belgian pearl sugar in the cupboard and was just waiting for the right recipe to fall into my lap….these look wonderful! I am going to have to take your word for authentic taste, since I have never had a Liege waffle, but I know that I will love them. Thank you!
March 16th, 2010 at 7:14 am
Uh…excuse me, I need to go out and buy a waffle maker now!
March 16th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Wow! I can hardly contain my glee after seeing these waffles! I will have to get my hands on some of that sugar and heat up my waffle iron!
March 16th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
I loved Leige waffles when in Belgium but the places that offer them here in Vancouver just don’t do them justice. I would love to recreate them, so thank you!!
March 16th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Wow. It’s enough to make you want to dust off your waffle iron …
March 16th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
I have just discovered your blog (via a link from Angry Chicken) and I think I’ve found my new favorite site. Can’t wait to try these waffles. Thank you!
March 16th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
[...] Liege “Sugar” Waffles, Perfected [...]
March 17th, 2010 at 12:15 am
These look amazing. Wow! I am in love!
March 17th, 2010 at 8:09 am
I swear to god, we think alike. I was just researching this very thing last week and bookmarked a bunch of things to test. Weird! Thanks for doing all the legwork for me
And hell yeah, I’ll waffle with you and waffelizer 
March 17th, 2010 at 10:01 am
There’s a little place locally that sells these waffles. I had them about 8 months ago and haven’t stopped thinking about them! I’m really excited to make these. Thanks for posting!
BTW, where do you buy pearl sugar? Just in ye olde standard grocery store?
March 18th, 2010 at 6:35 am
[...] Liege “Sugar” Waffles, Perfected [...]
March 18th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
wow, I can smell these from your description. I love waffles and this recipe sounds like an especially tasty one! I’m on my way to purchase a belgian waffle iron.
March 18th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Oh gosh, this is calling out to me. I can imagine crusty sugary buttery edges and the chewiest interior. Belgian chocolate on the side for me please!
March 20th, 2010 at 7:10 am
I’ll be in Liege for my first time in about 10 days. I know what I’ll be eating for breakfast. I’ll save the recipe for after the trip.
March 20th, 2010 at 9:00 am
wow, look at that, I’m already drooling, great color, looks delicious!!
March 21st, 2010 at 9:53 pm
I had these once on a ski slope- you skied right up to the stand. They are to die for.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Please make me some of these. Please oh please.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:57 pm
I live in Monterey, CA. At one time, there was a Belgian fellow who had a waffle cart at our shopping mall. My son would beg me to buy these waffles, and I admit they are amazing! One day, the guy disappeared. What a joy to find your recipe! I can hardly wait to make these for myself– and to surprise my son who is no longer 8 years old, but 21 years old. Great post! I’m glad I stumbled across your blog while searching for a recipe for zucchini fritters.
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:13 pm
So. I am super pumped about these waffles but I keep *waffling* over whether to make them: I am worried about my iron. I have a standard, deep-pocketed Belgian-style Waring model but even though it is non-stick I’m having nightmares of caramel patches refusing to loose themselves without taking some non-stick surfacing with them. What do you think? Am I being silly?
March 24th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Willa, I must say that my husband spent some time digging the caramely bits of the iron. Good instinct… but, if you wipe it with a paper towel when it is still hot… shouldn’t be a problem.
March 25th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Happy Waffle Day! (3/25/10)
This morning I enjoyed 3 Jewel brand waffles. How do those compare to these? Scale of 1-10 please.
March 26th, 2010 at 7:50 am
When I was a foreign exchange student in Japan, believe it or not, my host mother used to make these for my breakfast EVERY morning. I had no idea how to recreate them until now! Thank you!
March 27th, 2010 at 7:57 am
Good to see someone posting about this, it was in my plans but haven’t made them for ages. I LOVE these. If you serve these at a brunch people talk about them for YEARS! I didn’t realize there was a difference between Belgian pearl sugar and the Swedish pearl sugar I buy at IKEA. The Belgian looks larger. . . My recipe uses 2 separate doughs that you then mix together with your hands. Yours looks simpler, I’ll have to try it out. Have you heard of the cookbook “Everybody Eats Well in Belgium” – that’s where I found mine.
Another thing: do you have to clean your waffle iron with a q-tip after this recipe? I always do, due to leftover sugar.
There is no comparing a Liegoise waffle to any other kind though.
March 31st, 2010 at 9:17 pm
These are very tasty :3 I cut up sugar cubes, since I have no access to sugar pearls, and they came out great. They’re sweet enough that you don’t have to use syrup, though my brother did anyway. I can imagine if you added raisins they’d taste pretty good, too~
April 3rd, 2010 at 4:22 pm
I bought a Belgian waffle maker and ordered some pearl sugar just so I could make this recipe. The waffle maker came in yesterday and I just received my pearl sugar today. Guess what I’ll be making tonight and tomorrow!
April 6th, 2010 at 7:13 am
These look great, cant wait to try!
April 8th, 2010 at 7:27 am
Only because I care that everyone in the world experiences real Liege waffles . . . you need your husband to switch recipes. That recipe is just for some quick, over-yeasted bread with vanilla, cinnamon and chunks of sugar in it. True, that is what Belgian street vendors make nowadays, too, but to all but modern-day Liege waffle eaters, that’s not historically what people have known as a Liege waffle. I won’t self-promote the URL for the authentic recipe I hammered-down, but if you google “the liege waffle blog”, it’s the first result. If you like the shortcut version of these waffles, you’ll love the real deal!
April 15th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
[...] this recipe is strikingly similar to one that I found on RecipeZaar, I will give credit to the lovely blog that I found it on and to the blog that they found it on. These may or may not be authentic, [...]
April 30th, 2010 at 5:22 am
[...] and was smitten by the photographs and just had to make them. I also saw the recipe reviewed here and [...]
May 10th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
These are truly amazing waffles! I’m glad you have the recipe. I just spent 12 days in holland with my grandmother who is a holocaust survivor (I posted lots of pix of the trip and food on my blgo taganskitchen.blogspot.com) The hotel we were staying at had these waffles hot form the oven for breakfast, they were incredible. I had seen them around but just thought they were regular waffles, that is until I tasted them! the custardy sugary center was divine! I was really busy on this trip an didn’t get to explore the making of these waffles so close to the source, so I look forward to trying your recipe, send thanks to your husband for saving me the time of searching it out my self!!! Tagan
June 10th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
@27 Adam
Whats the site? I’ve made the waffles from this recipe and they turn out… too bready. Reminds me of a buttery cross between pound cake and challah bread.
Anyways, I’m looking for a more flaky layery and more authentic feel to the waffle.
June 14th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Weight Loss Diet…
Fast Easy Health Weight Loss and good Ideas for Diet….