Daelmans

Approximately two centuries ago, a baker in Gouda, South Holland, Netherlands, invented the first stroopwafel, a round waffle cookie split in half and filled with cinnamon-spiked caramel. Stroopwafels, which translates to “syrup waffles,” were incredibly popular and became a traditional Dutch side nibble. Before eating, they were often placed over a hot cup of coffee or tea to warm the gooey caramel filling.

Daelmans, a southern Netherlands bakery founded in 1904 by Hermanus Daelmans, has emerged as the world’s leading producer of Stroopwafels. The brand's recent success in the U.S. is due in part to United Airlines, which has been giving away Daelmans Stroopwafels to appreciative passengers on morning flights since 2016. That’s where I tasted my first Daelmans Stroopwafel. Somewhere up in the air.

To clone Daelmans secret recipe we must start with a good waffle cookie, and to do that you’ll need a waffle cone maker or pizzelle maker (inexpensive ones like this can be found online). These cookers will make thin waffle cookies when closed all the way down, but if you give your waffles a little breathing room you can make thicker waffle cookies that can be easily sliced through the middle with a butter knife before they’re completely cool.

Once your waffle is punched out with a 3 3/8-inch biscuit cutter and sliced open, you’ll add a simple caramel filling that’s made by melting Kraft baking caramels (I like the unwrapped caramel bits) with cinnamon and vanilla. Press the top half of the waffle down onto the caramel and give it a little spin, and you’ve just hacked a decades-old world-famous food.

Check out my clones for famous cookies and brownies here.