On my work trip to Brussels last week I was introduced to the liège waffle, a type of waffle that is denser and sweeter than the common “Belgian waffle” that I’m used to in the States. They were delicious! So when I got home there was no possible option but to find a recipe and try making them myself.

When you go search through the multitude of online recipies for liège waffles, you find that the secret ingredient for these things is pearl sugar — a compressed form of sugar bits smaller than sugar cubes, roughly the size of mini M&Ms. So, I ordered some from Amazon, printed off this recipe, and got to work.

A clear plastic bowl filled with small white foam packing peanuts is placed on a speckled countertop next to a blue cutting board and some canned goods.

With liège waffles you don’t really have a waffle batter - it’s more a waffle dough. It’s sort of a brioche, more similar to cinnamon roll dough that I’ve made than to pancake batter. Threw it all in to the KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook and kneaded it for 5 minutes, then threw it into a warm oven to let it rise for an hour.

Once the dough has risen you knead in the pearl sugar, which gives you a strange mound of dough that crunches when you cut it up into pieces.

A lump of dough with visible sugar crystals is resting on a blue cutting board. Several pieces of dough with visible corn kernels are placed on a blue cutting board on a kitchen countertop.

Throw these guys into the waffle maker and they cook up very nicely! I used a medium heat that turned out to be just right to caramelize the sugar, giving the waffles a nice shine and a nice crisp surface.

Two partially eaten waffles are served on a decorative white plate with a geometric pattern, placed on a kitchen counter near a waffle maker and kitchen utensils.

The caramelization is, of course, a little more work to clean up…

A waffle iron is open and shows burnt and partially cooked waffle batter stuck inside its compartments. A hand is holding a piece of burnt and melted caramelized sugar lattice over a speckled countertop.

Might scale the pearl sugar back by about 20% next time but otherwise this recipe was great! Not quite to the level I got from the pros in Belgium but for sure a good Saturday morning breakfast. These were a hit with the family and we will definitely be making them again.