At my house, every Sunday is Waffle Sunday.

Most families have at least one tradition, whether it’s watching Sunday Night Football together or having birthday dinners at the Italian Restaurant down the street. In my family, one of the most venerated traditions is waking up early Sunday morning to listen to music and make waffles.

And, of course, have two waffles topped with buckets of syrup and mounds of whipped cream each.

Of course, my family tends to get tired of things pretty fast, so we’re always looking for new waffle flavors and recipes to try. Sometimes we imitate the flavors of our favorite desserts, such as my Pumpkin-Apple Pie Waffles, but most of the time we combine flavors that we know go well together.

One my favorite snacks to make when I’m craving something sweet is an apple, chopped up, sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with honey, and heated up. The apples end up warm and the honey provides just the right amount of gooey, sticky sweetness to satisfy my sweet tooth, while remaining generally healthy. Knowing how well these flavors combine (and just how tasty this treat is), we attempted to reproduce the same sweet treat in waffle form.

And boy were we successful!

Not only are these waffles fluffy and cinnamon-y, but they’re packed with warm, toasted apples that are reminiscent both of an apple pie and my favorite healthy treat. And when drizzled with honey, these babies are downright delectable!

After eating these waffles, we’re thinking about making everyday Waffle Sunday.

Cinnamon Apple Waffles

• 1 1/2 c old fashioned oats (or 1 1/4 c oat flour)
• 1/8 c spelt flour
• 1/8 c whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 c applesauce
• 1 egg white (or 3 tbs egg whites)
• 1 1/4 c milk of choice (I used almond milk)
• 1 1/2 medium apples
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• stevia to taste
• 1 tbs flax seeds

Process oats in a blender or food processor until they have the consistency of oat flour. In a mixing bowl, mix all dry ingredients together, including oat flour. Add milk, applesauce, and egg white and stir until combined. Add stevia until desired sweetness is reached (or substitute with about 2 tbs brown sugar). Chop up apples into bite-sized pieces and fold into batter. If desired, skin the apple before chopping, but this step isn’t necessary. Heat up a waffle iron and grease with cooking spray. Pour about 1 c of batter onto iron (if using an 8 in belgian waffle iron), sprinkle on scant tsp of flax seeds, close iron, and allow the waffle to cook for roughly 8 minutes (time may vary based on size). Once it’s cooked through, plate it and top with desired fruit, syrup, etc. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (from myfitnesspal.com)

Calories: 282

Fat: 6g

Carbs: 51g

Protein: 9g

(Yields 3 servings)