Stroopwafel, a Dutch delight

Traditional Dutch syrup waffles are delicious, in fact you can’t stop eating them once you start, so remember this if you are thinking of baking or buying some. Beware or you will become a syrup waffles addict.

These caramel flavoured waffles are round and made of two thin layers of dough baked in a waffle iron and then joined together with syrup. They are crispy on the outside but mouth-wateringly soft on the inside.

Originally made in Gouda, the first recipe dates back to 1840. In English they go under various names including syrup, caramel or treacle waffles. If you find you cannot stop eating them once you start, remember many people went before you and you are not the first and will not be the last to succumb.

syrup waffles are available in several sizes. A normal size waffle is 10 cm in diameter but you can also get them more than twice that size… jumbo waffles are about 25 cm. You can use them in desserts too but most people like to get them fresh from the vendor stalls and eat them right away while they are hot. You will find street vendors with waffles throughout the Netherlands, once you know the typical aroma just follow your nose.

Syrup waffle (stroopwafel) recipe, ingredients for 10 stroopwafels size 10 cm:

• 500g plain flour
• 250g butter, melted
• 150g caster sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons dried active baking yeast or two (7g) sachets dried yeast.
• 60ml lukewarm milk
• 1 egg

• Filling
• 350g treacle
• 200g brown soft sugar
• 50g butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation to bake some syrup waffles

1. Mix the flour, melted butter, sugar, yeast, milk and egg in a large bowl. Knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Set the dough aside and let it rise for 45 minutes.
2. To make the filling heat the treacle, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon in a saucepan. Mix well and set aside.
3. Preheat a pizzelle or shallow waffle iron.
4. Knead the dough briefly and divide it into pieces with the size of a small ball, about 4cm in diametere.
5. Place the dough ball in the waffle iron and close the lid to cook the waffles until no more steam escapes and the waffle is golden brown.
6. Remove the waffle carefully with a spatula or palette knife. Use a round cutter to cut off the edges and make a perfect circle.
7. Carefully split the waffle into two rounds whilst still hot. Do not wait too long as they will break if cool.
8. Spread a little of the filling on one of the halves and then sandwich with the other half.
9. Repeat with the remaining waffles.

Total preparation time:1hr20min

Waffle iron for syrup waffles,

Making syrup waffles does require a special shallow waffle iron, as regular waffle irons will produce waffles too thick for this purpose. Try finding a stroopwafel iron, if possible, or improvise with either a pizzelle iron or waffle ice cream cone iron. In Holland we use a Kniepertjes iron, with this we also can make kniepertjes or ice cream cones.

Syrup Waffles or Stroopwafel (Dutch) packed

Prepared stroopwafels, somethimes in beautiful packets are available from supermarkets and other shops. If you don’t want to bake them? Send me a messages and maybe I send you some tasty stroopwafels.