Cranberry Cornmeal Waffles

Preheat your waffle iron to the highest setting. Mine is 5.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In a glass measuring cup, whisk together the milk, canola oil, and egg yolk.

In a separate small bowl, beat the egg white until soft peaks form. You can do it by hand, or use an electric mixer. Add the sugar, and continue beating until stiff.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine, but do not over mix. It will be thick. Next, add one-third of the egg whites, and fold them into the waffle batter. Proper folding technique is down the middle with the narrowest part of the spatula, and then sweep the edges of the bowl. Repeat until well-combined. Repeat the process with the remaining egg white in two batches.

Next, stir in the cranberry sauce. If you don’t have leftover sauce from Thanksgiving, you can make your own (below).

Place a heaping ½ cup of batter on your waffle iron (this is half of the mixture). Close the lid and cook until the light tells you it’s done. I use a regular, not Belgian waffle iron. If you’re using a Belgian waffle iron, you’ll probably have to double the recipe because they hold more batter. Remove the cooked waffle to a plate. Repeat with the last half of the batter to make the second waffle.

Note: If you need to make cranberry sauce: combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on low for 4-5 minutes, until the berries start popping. It’s best to stop the cooking process before they turn into a mush; you want mostly whole berries.