I was gone for four days last week/end and my cupboards were practically bare when I got home.  So I searched my recipes and my pantry and pulled out recipes that used what I had on hand.  And this was our dinner.

Not only were the girls ecstatic that we were having chocolate waffles for dinner- but they had ice cream on them!  We called in “dinsert”.  And boy way it good!  The grated chocolate gives it a richness you don’t find in many baked goods and the whipped egg whites kept it light and fluffy.  Unless you mention the cornmeal your family probably won’t know it’s there.

Needless to day, the girls gobbled it up.  While I probably won’t make it for dinner again I will definitely use this recipe for brunches and a unique dessert.  These will keep in the refrigerator and freezer; just pop in the toaster to reheat.

I got the recipe from Self magazine.  Each square has 245 calories (with frozen yogurt and sauce), and the recipe makes 3 waffles on a regular waffle iron.  I have a small round waffle iron so it made 5 (and the calorie count is different).

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 oz semisweet chocolate, finely grated (I used bittersweet; they are interchangeable when baking)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup 2 percent milk
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs, separated
* Vegetable oil cooking spray

Optional:
* nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt (or ice cream)
*  chocolate sauce
* Fresh raspberries
* Confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Heat waffle iron. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Stir in milk, oil and 1/2 cup water until just combined. Add vanilla, but don’t stir. Add yolks to batter; stir until just combined. Beat egg whites in another bowl until they just hold firm peaks; fold whites into batter until combined. Coat waffle iron with cooking spray. Cook batter in batches, 3 to 6 minutes. Break waffles into 4 pieces; top each square with frozen yogurt and drizzle with chocolate sauce. Garnish with raspberries and confectioners’ sugar, if desired.