Dutch Stroopwafel Recipe (with video)
Dutch Stroopwafels don’t need any introduction. These caramel-filled waffle cookies are wildly popular and available in many US markets. But just wait until you’ve tasted a freshly-baked, homemade stroopwafel. Wow!
Table of contents
What you need to make authentic Stroopwafels at home
Did you ever imagine that you could make real Dutch stroopwafels at home? It’s totally doable. These are really, really good stroopwafels. Almost as good as the ones I’ve had hot off the stroopwafel cart in Gouda!
In fact, my Dutch husband said my homemade stroopwafels were “perfect”. Believe me, being Dutch, he is not one for false flattery.
You do need one special piece of equipment and should seek-out one special ingredient.
You will need a waffle iron to bake the cookies. Not a waffle maker like you’d use for breakfast waffles, but a waffle iron designed to make cookies. There’s a link to the one I own in the recipe card.
The special ingredient is Dutch stroop. You can buy it on-line and you’ll find a link in the recipe card (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases).
If you can’t find stroop, see the FAQ section or recipe card below for a substitution.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Stroop – I highly suggest using real Dutch stroop for this recipe. It is fairly expensive to buy on-line but you can also use it to enjoy Dutch Pannekoeken. A mixture of honey & molasses is an acceptable substitution.
- All Purpose Flour – Medium protein AP flour makes a cookie strong enough to split without crumbling apart.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar in the caramel filling adds a nice molasses note to the flavor.
- Yeast – These are yeast-risen cookies. I use active dry yeast in this recipe. Any dry yeast can be substituted.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Mix the dough with the beater attachment.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead together.
- Divide the dough into 18 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and set aside for 1 hour.
- Make an assembly line with the dough, waffle maker, filling, utensils and a clean baking sheet for the finished waffles.
- Form the dough ball into a disc and place it on the preheated waffle iron.
- Bake the stroopwafels until golden brown.
- Immediately split the waffle with the tip of a small knife. If you wait too long the cookie will crisp and will be hard to split.
- Open up the waffle. It should split naturally into two pieces.
- Spread a generous helping of caramel filling into the warm waffle. Close the cookie and set it aside to cool.
FAQs
If you can find it, I highly recommend using Dutch stroop for authentic flavor. The best substitute for stroop would be half light corn syrup and half molasses. Don’t use honey or maple syrup as they both have the wrong texture and have specific flavors that won’t work in the filling.
When the filling is warm it will be too runny to spread into the cookies. Allow it to cool to room temperature before using. You can refrigerate the filling to speed up the cooling. If the filling gets very thick you can briefly microwave it to loosen it up a bit.
Yes, the dough can be made ahead and frozen for up to 3 months. Remove the dough balls from the freezer and allow them to defrost before using. The filling could also be made ahead and frozen.
No, not really. They are waffles, after all.
It’s easiest to split the waffles when they’re hot off the iron. The cookies crisp up very quickly and could crack if you try to split them after they’ve cooled. You should split and fill each cookie as soon as it finishes baking. To protect your fingers from the heat you can wear latex gloves or place a paper towel on top of the waffle as you split it.
Stroopwafels will keep at room temperature for several days and can be frozen for longer storage.
You can set a fresh stroopwafel on top of a cup of coffee or tea to lightly melt the filling and warm the cookie. If the cookies have been frozen or are a few days old you can briefly warm them in a 200°F oven.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a star rating and a quick comment. Ratings and comments help my recipes show in search results. Thanks!
Dutch Stroopwafel Recipe
Ingredients
Stroop filling
- 7 oz Dutch Stroop (⅔ cup (see note))
- 4 oz brown sugar (½ cup)
- 3 oz unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
Waffle Dough
- 2 oz whole milk (¼ cup, warm)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast (7 g or 1 packet)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 6 oz unsalted butter (melted)
- 5 oz granulated sugar (⅔ cup)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 15 oz all purpose flour (3 cups, see note)
Instructions
- Combine 7 oz Dutch Stroop, 4 oz brown sugar, 3 oz unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamonand ⅛ teaspoon table salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar and butter are melted and the mix just comes to a boil. Transfer the filling to a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Combine 2 oz whole milk and 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Use the beater and mix until the yeast is dissolved. Add 2 large eggs, 6 oz unsalted butter (melted) and 5 oz granulated sugar.
- With the mixer running on low, add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon table salt. Add 15 oz all purpose flour and mix until most of the flour is incorporated. Turn the dough out into a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. The dough is quite soft.
- Divide the dough into 18 pieces, each piece should weigh about 50g. Roll each piece to a ball and line them up on a sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set the dough aside for 1 hour.
- Preheat the waffle iron. Take a ball of dough and flatten it to a disc. Place it on the waffle iron and close the iron.
- Bake until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Use a fork to lift the waffle off the iron. Immediately use a knife with a thin sharp blade to split and open up the waffle. Generously spread the inside of the waffle with stroop (about a tablespoon) and sandwich the two halves together. Continue with the remaining dough.
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Is the yeast active or instant?
Either will work.
Have to cut them open immediately before they become too crispy. Have your assembly line ready. We filled half with stroop and half with spreadable Camembert. This recipe gave us 27 balls. Delicious
Another question: when I close the waffle maker, butter leaks out of the dough all down the sides. I am using the same waffle iron as you do. Should I let the dough rest more? Thank you!!
Huh, I’ve never had that happen. Is your room very warm? Is the dough very soft?
Yes. The dough is very soft
Are you weighing your ingredients?
Can you use a pizzelle maker for this? Thx
I think so.
I have purchased a Vevor cone maker just to try this recipe and it works very well.
I set the temperature to 303F and cook the wafers for 85 seconds.
I also substituted cake flour for 1/3 of the flour.
I added 1 teaspoon black pepper to the dough.
For the syrup I use corn syrup as specified and 3 tablespoons molasses.
I don’t usually leave comments, but (if you can’t tell by the last name) I’m Dutch and have had trouble finding English recipes that did stroopies correct… I feel most are trying to replicate the store bought kind, and have you make caramel to varying degrees of success. Most attempts that way have always failed for us after much difficulty.
But I tried searching for stroopwafels with keukenstroop and found your recipe, and these are hands down the best homemade stroopies we’ve made, but are also the closest to the fresh ones you get on the street in the Netherlands. Also 100x easier than any other recipe we’ve tried!
The store bought stroopies are great, but if anyone is wondering if the hassle of hunting real keukenstroop down is worth it, I can tell you it 100% is! We will be replicating this from here on!
Thanks Chad. As I said in the post, my Dutch husband declared they were “perfect”. And I’m sure you’ll agree the Dutch are not known for false praise, lol.
De retour de Hollande c’est exactement ça que je cherchais mer i
What size are your cookies?
My waffle maker makes a cookie 4″ across. If you have a different size waffle maker you may have to adjust the number of cookies.
Can you use a hand mixer if you don’t own a stand mixer?
Yes, the dough is fairly soft. More like a cookie dough than a bread dough.
What’s ‘dutch stroop’ in filling recipe?
Sometimes Amazon has it, and sometimes they don’t. https://www.amazon.com/Van-Gilse-Original-syrup-600gr/dp/B08PFZVD6W (As an Amazon affiliate I earn from purchases). You can also google it and you may find other websites that sell it. https://www.hollandforyou.com/holland-shop-dutch-products-dutch-groceries/dutch-food/breakfast-lunch/dutch-syrup-11/van-gilse-schenkstroop-classic-holland-shop.html. Otherwise, I’ve put a substitution suggestion in the Notes section of the recipe card.
I used the Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Closest I can get to the Dutch stroop
Groetjes.
What heat level did you use on the Cuisinart to get the proper crispness?
My waffle maker doesn’t have adjustable heat. They will bake very fast so I think going fairly hot will not be a problem.
Hi! I’m excited to try this but wanted to let you know that the stroop you have linked on Amazon isn’t available! I’m probably going to make my own with corn syrup and molasses but I thought you might want to know in case you wanted to link another one 🙂
Oh, thanks for the heads up. I have noticed that the Dutch stroop is sometimes unavailable. I’ll try to find another link.
@Eileen Gray, I’m excited to try these. I noticed the stoop isn’t available too. I’ll make my own but if you find another type let me know. THANK YOU!!!
I just did a quick google search and did find a few places on-line where you can purchase stroop.
Sorry – just saw your list
Where did you get your iron?
Unfortunately, the model I have isn’t available any more. The one shown in the recipe card is the closest I could find to what I have.
@Eileen Gray, it’s available again!
Oh, for me it still says it’s unavailable on Amazon. If anyone is interested I use the “Palmer Electric Belgian Cookie Iron Thin”. I did a quick google search and found it for sale on the company’s website and a few other places.