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Recipe:
Corpus Christi Liège Waffles
St. Juliana of Liège was a 12th century nun born near Liège, Belgium, who became the catalyst for establishing the feast of Corpus Christi. To celebrate this great feast in the Church, these traditional waffles honor the birthplace of the mystic saint, whose devotion to the Holy Eucharist has reminded Catholics for centuries of the true Presence of Jesus Christ’s Body, Blood, soul and divinity in the consecrated host and wine.

This overnight yeast dough waffle recipe takes prep time, but yields an extraordinary way to celebrate such an awesome Church feast. The results are a sweet, crispy, caramelized waffle that is soft on the inside. Serve them warm with your favorite toppings (we love whipped cream and strawberries).

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 4 minutes/waffle
Rest time: ~10 hours (if doing in one day, rest time = 2 ½ hours)
Total time: ~11 ½ hours
Yield: 12-14 waffles
Author: #MakingCatholicMemories

Ingredients:
– 1 packet (2 ¼ tsp.) active dry yeast
– 2 tsp. granulated sugar
– ¾ cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
– 2 large eggs, room temperature
– 1 Tbsp. vanilla
– 2 Tbsp. honey
– 2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
– 3 ½ cups flour, divided
– 1 tsp. salt
– 2 sticks butter, cut into pieces
– 1 cup Belgian Pearl Sugar

Optional Topping
– ½ cup whipping cream
– 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– Sliced strawberries or other fresh fruit

Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, stir together yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Set aside for 5-10 minutes while the yeast blooms.

In a separate small bowl, combine eggs, honey and vanilla.

In a third bowl, combine 3 cups flour and the brown sugar and salt.

Once yeast has bloomed, pour in the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a dough hook until a cohesive sticky dough forms.

Add butter, four tablespoons at a time, making sure it is fully incorporated between each set of four; this will take approximately 3-5 minutes in total.

Add the final ½ cup of flour and knead with dough hook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Dough will still be shaggy.

Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel, place in a warm space, and let the dough rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 ½ – 2 hours.

Punch down the dough in the mixing bowl, cover well with plastic wrap again, and place in the refrigerator overnight or 8 hours (up to 24 hours). For the one day option, see note 1 below.

About 90 minutes before you are ready to cook your waffles, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

While you wait for the dough to reach room temperature, make your homemade whipped cream by whisking the whipping cream until it becomes frothy.

Continue whisking while adding one tablespoon of sugar at a time until soft peaks form.

Add vanilla extract and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Knead in the pearl sugar and cut dough into 12-14 relatively equal pieces.

Preheat a lightly greased waffle iron (Belgian-style works best) to 360 degrees. For waffle irons without a variable temperature, see note 2 below.

Place one ball of dough at a time in the preheated waffle iron and cook for 4 minutes.

Remove each waffle and place on a wire rack to cool (or keep all waffles warm in an oven preheated to 200-250 degrees).

Serve warm waffles with fresh whipped cream and strawberries as you celebrate the way Jesus makes Himself ever present to us through the most Holy Eucharist. Perhaps even point out that the cross formed in the middle of your Liège waffle is reminiscent of the cross in the Eucharist we receive at each Holy Mass.

Notes:
To complete these waffles in one day, after the first rise, simply allow the dough to rise in a warm place again for an additional 30-45 minutes before kneading in the pearl sugar.

For standard Belgian waffle irons without temperature gauges, heat the iron completely,cook the waffle for one minute at full heat, then unplug the iron for the remaining 3 minutes. Plug in the waffle iron and return to full heat between each waffle. (This prevents the sugar from burning—however, it’s also good to clean residual sugar from the iron between waffles.)