Stroopwafels

Stroopwafels are my friend. 

These dutch based delicacies were first concocted sometime around the mid 1700's. Its said that an unknown baker took leftover crumbs and formed them into cookies and filled them with a caramel syrup. I have read throughout the internet that Stroopwafels are sold by the dutch on the streets as snacks, and each Dutchman consumes 20 stroopwafels per year......First I want to say this.... Everywhere I read that statement about the quantity consumed, it was written as "OMG, the dutch consume 20 per year!!" Uhhh, well....Hmmmm. Glad I'm American. Because, I may very well have hit my yearly dutch limit by 3 o'clock today. And seriously, is 20 really that many of anything to consume in a whole year?!?! Ok, I agree, perhaps 20 cakes would be a touch gluttonous. But these are cookies people....Moving on..Perhaps I'm just embarrassed at my stroopwafel consumption and I'm lashing out at the reasonable consumers of the world.

My love-affair obsession  fondness for these dutch treats began several years ago. My in-laws had traveled to Holland on vacation. They brought these flat, disk-like treats back for all of us. And thus began the addiction.. If you've never heard of them, they are very thin butter- laden cookies filled with a special caramel filling. (Butter-laden meaning a whole pound of butter in the following recipe).They are typically served at room temperature or slightly warmed. I have read its great to let them rest over the top of a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea. The steam slightly warms the caramel.
All I can say about this particular recipe is...... thank God they are time consuming. If I could make these as quickly as desired, the doorframes to my house would no longer be wide enough to accomodate me. No, no, hang on. Don't let this scare you away. Despite the fact that they are a bit time consuming, you will forever be grateful that you have broadened your culinary horizons. Here's the catch. You must have a pizzelle iron. The pizzelle iron is vital to making the cookie part of the recipe. Don't worry, its worth it. And you can always make waffle cones with it in the summer:) Just in case you're still a bit worried, I've got a step by step tutorial on the cooking/filling part of this recipe. I assure you, stroopwafels will be your friend too! Enjoy!

 

Dutch Stroopwafels

recipe courtesy of Diana's Desserts

Ingredients:

For The Wafles:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
For The Filling:
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons dark corn syrup
Instructions:
Preheat pizzelle iron.
To Make Wafels:
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
Cut one (1) cup of the butter into the flour. Mix in the sugar, cinnamon, eggs and yeast mixture. Mix well and set aside to rise for 30 to 60 minutes. Roll dough into about 24 small balls, place each ball into the preheated pizzelle iron and bake for about 30 seconds, one at a time. The unbaked dough will look something like this (Ok so it doesn't really have that neon glow unless you've got lighting issues, but you get the idea.  Lets just call it angelic dough :)

Then the baked dough:

To Make Filling:
In a saucepan boil the brown sugar, the remaing one cup of the butter, cinnamon, and dark corn syrup until it reaches the soft ball stage (234-240 degrees F 112 -115 degrees C). It will look something like this:

Oh, doesn't that look sinful.....after enjoying a little time alone with the caramel, move along to the assembly.

And, yes, you do want to assemble. As good as the caramel is alone, just think of the finished product!

To Assemble:
Cut each wafel into two (2) thin wafels and spread with filling. Repeat this process until all the filling is used. Note: You will want to bake a wafel and assemble immediately after removing from the pizzelle iron. Hold the hot wafel in a towl to slice.

Put the two sides together and you've got your long awaited Stroopwafel.

Let cool completely on a wire rack 

Yes, I know they look like a pain, but they really are worth it.

Now, shall we  hot glue the entire pound of butter used in the recipe to our right thigh or our left?

LOL! Hope you try them when you have some extra time!