How To Eat a Stroopwafel

Stroopwafels are my all-time favorite cookie, but they can be devilishly difficult to find. I suppose scarcity has a way of making the heart grow fonder, but when I do amass a stockpile of them my fondness doesn’t fade the way it does halfway into a box of Girl Scout cookies. What makes this the perfect cookie is the combination of textures. Stroopwafels consist of two buttery waffle wafers sandwiching a thin, faintly gooey layer of syrup. They’re sweet, but not too sweet; crisp, yet deliciously crumbly. They were making these in the Netherlands two hundred years ago, so if they’ve been around that long there must be something to them, right?

Finding good stroopwafels in the U.S. can be a challenge. Sometimes you’ll see them made with honey, maple syrup, or jam filling, but toffee is by far the superior waffle glue. If you’re lucky enough to be at a Dutch bakery that makes them fresh (Vandaag in the East Village is one example) you’re in for a treat that’s pretty rare on this side of the Atlantic. Otherwise you’ll need to buy the packaged kind at a fancy market that imports cookies from Europe, or order them online. I’ve been hitting up Chelsea Market Baskets for the Tregroes brand, which is the best I’ve been able to find lately, since Dean & Deluca stopped stocking them. I’d advise avoiding the Shady Maple brand sold at Whole Foods and some delis. Or worse yet, mini stroopwafels–here’s why:

The proper way to eat a stroopwafel is to place it on top of a steaming hot mug of coffee or tea for approximately two minutes. Ideally the circumference of your mug will exactly match that of the stroopwafel. The steam from your beverage will heat the cookie just enough for the filling to melt, making it gooier and releasing more toffee flavor. That’s really all there is to it. They’re great straight from the box too, but the hot beverage will also fill you up so you’re not immediately digging into another stroopwafel. After all, you’ve got a stockpile to maintain.

Chelsea Market Baskets in Chelsea Market
75 Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th St.
Mon-Sat 9:30am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm