Tropical waffles

I decided to make some waffles this morning because our 2 year old likes waffles and says the word so cute - who can resist the cute wa - ffull?  Not me.  My computer currently is having some battery issues and can not be unplugged or it will turn off.  (The battery won't hold a charge.) Anyway, since I can't just grab the computer and drag it in the kitchen without having to reboot,  I quickly flipped through a few books and picked a recipe.  However, I went and altered the thing like crazy and had to write myself a few notes.  The resulting waffles were super tasty.  Truly I wanted to make them using the entire can of crushed pineapple, but was worried it would be too much, and I didn't have time to fiddle with it, or be adding extra flour...  The amounts I started with worked, so I went with it.    I actually never use crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, but had a can which I accidentally got instead of the kind packed in juice.   It seemed like a good thing to use that syrup to replace the sugar and some of the oil in the original recipe, plus it helped use up something I normally wouln't use.  Score!    Anyway, here is what I did.  I loved them.  I ate mine plain as I was running around the house looking for kid's shoes.  Why I don't set them out the night before is beyond me.  :)

Ingredients

• 4 extra large eggs (I just happen to have extra large eggs at the moment.  I'll probably use 5 eggs when I don't have the extra larges.
• 4 cups AP flour
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup crushed pineapple in heavy syrup drained, reserve juice
• 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice/syrup
• 3 1/2 cups milk (I used fat free)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons baking powder  
• 1 heaping teaspoon grated orange peel 
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat waffle iron.  Beat eggs in a large bowl with a hand beater (or in a mixer) until fluffy.  Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth.  (I made mine in my kitchen-aide with the whisk attachment.  I beat the eggs very well, tossed everything in but the coconut, mixed it until incorporated, and added the coconut.  Simple.)
2. Pour batter in hot waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions.  (My particular waffle iron usually needs almost 2 cups of mix, but only needed about 1 1/2 cups of this mix.)  

Notes:

Original recipe had more orange peel, but I only had 1 orange.  That would be tasty as well if you want a stronger orange flavor, but I added the almond to compensate for the missing orange, and because I thought it sounded tasty.  Also, the original recipe had macadamia nuts sprinkled on top right before closing the waffle iron.  That would be a tasty addition, but I don't keep those on hand, and these were plenty tasty without them.  Just throwing it out there.  :)

Additional note 1/5 - This can of crushed pineapple didn't have 1/2 cup juice.  I added extra pineapple, but the waffles aren't as sweet today.  I'll probably actually add a bit of syrup. - May want to add a bit of sugar to the recipe if using Dole pineapple.