Crispy, fluffy buttermilk Belgian waffles with a hint of Meyer lemon and vanilla bean and topped with threads of candied citrus peel for a delightful crunch and an extra pop of citrus flavor.

TL;DR—these waffles are a mouthful of sweet, waffled sunshine. They are perfectly golden brown and crispy on the outside, tender and custardy in the middle, lemon-scented and topped with a pile of delicate candied citrus peel that is honestly what takes these waffles from ordinary to extraordinary.

I’ll admit, the waffles themselves are pretty standard as far as buttermilk waffles go, ever so subtly scented with lemon. When I first tasted them I definitely thought they needed more lemon flavor, but, once I added on the candied citrus, it turns out that the lightly lemony waffle was absolutely perfect to begin with, no further testing necessary.

Seriously though. The candied citrus is everything. Without it, these waffles are nothing out of the ordinary. But with the candied citrus piled on top… well, now they’re something to write home about. Hell, you should probably call home and tell mom to make these waffles immediately because a letter would take too gosh darn long (and god forbid your mom misses Meyer lemon season! The horror!)

Meyer lemon season won’t last forever, so might I suggest making these waffles ASAP? Or at the very least, candy some peel and freeze some juice and zest so you can make these waffles all spring and summer long.

(Also, speaking of Meyer lemons, I recently read this intriguing article about their namesake, Frank Meyer, and the other contributions he made to our food culture as we know it today. Fascinating stuff!)

To make candied citrus peel, most recipes will tell you to take off swaths of peel using a vegetable peeler, then tediously scrape off any residual pith and then slice into thin ribbons. Basically the same process for preparing citrus for marmalade.

With that in mind, I figured my ribbon marmalade method would work just as well for candied citrus. I find this method to be far easier to prep, and the final consistency is finer and more delicate. Not to mention the super thin ribbons of peel will cook more quickly than thicker strips too, so you’ve just saved yourself a good hour of time (score!)

For this method, you’ll need what I call a ribbon zester, which produces spaghetti-like ribbons of citrus peel with little to no pith. I’ll do two passes over each section of the fruit, the second time zesting the strips of peel left after the first pass. The firmer your citrus is the easier this will be (chilling the fruit first also helps).

You can easily whip up a big batch of candied citrus; feel free to double or even triple the recipe below. Once thoroughly cooled and coated in sugar (I like to leave the citrus out in the open overnight, it helps it get even crunchier), the candied peel will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

I used a mix of 2 Meyer lemons, 1 regular lemon, and 1 blood orange (although I will note, the pretty red color of the blood orange peel completely cooked out – you can’t differentiate the blood orange from the Meyer lemon in the final product.) The combination of flavors is quite nice though, and for that reason I’d still recommend using a mix of citrus here instead of just all one kind.

Also, the leftover citrus syrup is basically liquid gold, so definitely don’t throw it away! Strain it off and store it in a jar in the fridge, add it to cocktails (like this Sicilian Gin Spritz which conveniently calls for a Meyer Lemon Vanilla Syrup which is essentially what you have) or stir some into your morning yogurt. Trust me on this one.

Because when life gives you lemons… make waffles. Obviously.

What’d you think I was going to say? Lemonade? Psssh.