1 Week Before Thanksgiving - Horchata Pumpkin Waffles & Holiday Check List

* This post has been compensated through the AE Dairy Blog Ambassador program.  All views and opinions shared are my own. *

Can you believe that it is the week before Thanksgiving already???  Even if you can't, it is time to get ready for the holiday season!  If you've been following my blog for awhile you probably know that I am a list person.  Lists help me stay organized and give me a sense of accomplishment when I can cross something off of it!  And the holiday season is the perfect time to utilize lists so you don't feel overwhelmed or stressed out.  Throughout the 2015 holiday season I thought I'd share my holiday check lists weekly, as well as a holiday recipe.

AE Dairy's Seasonal Milks,
including their new Horchata milk (4th from left)

This week's recipe is my Horchata Pumpkin Waffles.  I was inspired to create this recipe after trying AE Dairy's new Horchata seasonal milk last month.  Horchata is a traditional Hispanic drink.  AE Dairy's version is their 2% milk flavored with vanilla and cinnamon.  When I took my first sip of the Horchata milk I thought about how it would be a great milk to add to holiday cookies and breakfast pastries and sweets.  I decided to first try it in one of my family's favorite breakfast meals, waffles.  And besides just replacing the milk in my traditional waffle recipe, I decided to add pumpkin, as well as vanilla and cinnamon to bring out the Horchata flavor more.

Horchata Pumpkin Waffles

2 cups Flour

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 3/4 cups AE Dairy Horchata milk

6 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Pumpkin, pureed

2 Tbsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon

Place ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine until well blended and smooth with a whisk.  Preheat your waffle maker on desired setting (I always go for the medium setting on ours).  Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto the center of the lower grid of your waffle maker.  Close cover and carefully remove after indicator light says it is done, around 1 1/2 minutes.  Repeat with remaining batter.  

Make eight 6 1/2 inch round waffles.

These waffles were a huge hit for our family and made it feel like the holidays!  The combination of the pumpkin and Horchata was the perfect savory and sweet waffle bite.  So if you have a waffle maker laying around your house, get it out and use it!  I'm glad I held onto ours that we got as a wedding gift almost 8 years ago because the kids love waffles and I love making waffles for them.

So now that you are warmed up for the holiday season with a new breakfast recipe, it's time to start checking things off your Thanksgiving and Christmas checklists!  We have one week before Thanksgiving and five weeks before Christmas!  This week I'm getting my Thanksgiving menu groceries (which includes my Overnight Salad and Shrimp Dip!), working on Christmas Wish lists, and organizing our family's holiday travels.  Be sure to check out the complete Holiday Check List!

What do you have planned for your Thanksgiving menu?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!