Market Stall · Warm Waffle Cookie

Stroopwafel

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The tinned, hard stroopwafels sold as souvenirs abroad aren't how the Dutch actually eat them — market vendors griddle them fresh and hand them over warm and gooey.

A stroopwafel is two thin waffle cookies pressed together around a warm caramel-syrup filling. At markets, vendors griddle them to order and sell them still warm and soft, a world away from the hard, shelf-stable version sold in tins.

Why it's made this way: It was first made by a baker in Gouda in the early 1800s, and the custom of resting one on top of a hot coffee or tea to gently melt the syrup filling comes directly from how the cookie behaves when warmed.