Chocolate Waffles and Strawberry Sauce - Jana Lithgow

This recipe is from Jana's friend Jill and is a great dish to serve for brunch.

Easy Strawberry Sauce:
1.5 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, stemmed, sliced (if using frozen, increase cornstarch to 2 tsp)
2 T sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cold water

Waffles:
1 cup white flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk or milk (I use buttermilk)
3 tsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated

Combine strawberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on med, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat to low. In a small cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and stir into the strawberries. Simmer for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until the juice is clear and thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat waffle iron. If there is a temp setting, set it to medium.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cocoa, sugar and salt. Mix thoroughly. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla and egg yolks. In third bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir buttermilk mix into the dry without over mixing. Gently fold in the egg whites.

Scoop 1/2 cup into waffle iron at a time for 6 waffles.

Serve immediately, topped with strawberries.

Variations: When combining wet and dry, mix in any of the following: 1/4 tsp almond extract, 2 tsp coarsely ground chocolate chips, 2 tsp coarsely ground nuts, or 1/2 tsp of freshly grated orange peel.