Wednesday, November 09, 2016

Waffling Leftovers: Cinnamon Sugar Knots

Yes, I love to take leftovers and stick them in my waffle iron.  If you've missed all my previous posts, check out my master post on waffling leftovers first, and then come read this, so you know what you are getting into.

By now, you should be familiar with the concept.  It is simple really.  Take a random leftover, stick it, generally unmodified, into a waffle iron, wait a few minutes, and consume the results.  This story is no different.

This waffling adventure was inspired by my previous successes of waffling sticky buns and glazed donuts, as I had something that was basically a cross between the two: a cinnamon sugar knot.  The knot was a cinnamon and sugar coated buttery roll made from pizza dough, shaped in a knot.  It was a no brainer to waffle it.

So, the important question: Cinnamon sugar knots: Will it waffle?  A: Of course, and it basically turns into a Liège waffle, crazy caramelized on the outside.
The Original: Cinnamon Sugar Knot.
The original was a cinnamon sugar knot from Ramuntos, a local pizza joint in my hometown.  By now, you know that I prefer waffled leftover pizza to regular pizza, so it should come as no surprise that I'd want to throw other pizza leftovers into the waffle iron too.  In this case though, I wanted to waffle the knot.

Ramunto's makes incredible savory garlic and romano cheese knots (which I'm sure would waffle great too), but I had my eye set on the sweet versions, pizza dough folded into a knot, drenched in butter, and rolled in a very generous amount of cinnamon and sugar.

When fresh, they are delicious, so buttery and sweet, and served warm.
Leftover Cinnamon Sugar Knots.
The shelf life of the knots isn't so great though.  I had one the next day, and tried it both cold and warmed up in the toaster oven, and it had lost much of the appeal.  It was kinda dry and stale tasting.

Still, I couldn't let all that amazing butter and sugar go to waste.  Plus, given my experience with the glazed donuts, I had a pretty good idea that the butter and sugar crust would easily turn into caramelized magic once waffled.
Waffled Cinnamon Sugar Knots!
This was a very simple item to waffle.  I pre-heated the iron to 350 degrees, stuck the full cinnamon knot in, and mushed down the lid.  No other prep necessary.

A few minutes later, I checked on it, and it was ready.  Some of the sugar did turn into a thin caramel sauce in the waffle grill, but it didn't actually make a mess, and I was easily able to extract it as it cooled slightly.

The knot basically turned into a Liège waffle, as I hoped.  It worked even better than I had imagined.  The outside was very crisp and caramelized, the inside stayed doughy.  It did still taste a little stale, but, that wasn't the waffle iron's fault, I started with a rather stale item in the first place.  Definitely an improvement over the leftover version, but the original was still superior.  I wonder if waffling a fresh one would be good?
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Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Travelin' Tuesday: Munich

The past few weeks have highlighted my discoveries in the city of Munich, Germany, ranging from restaurants and beer gardens, to fast food, to packaged products.

This post is your overview, for quick reference.

Hotel / Airline

Restaurants

Snacks

Ice Cream

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