Real stroopwafels are a Dutch treat. They look like thin, finely waffled cookies filled with a stripe of caramel. Faux stroopwafels could be described the same way. But while real stroopwafels take skill and a steady hand to make, the faux variety can be made perfectly by the most careless person in the world.
This is the ideal Christmas treat to make if you’re deathly allergic to baking, cooking, chores, pulling your weight, or “effort” in any sense of the word. You can make faux stroopwafels with just two storebought ingredients: pizzelles and dulce de leche.
What are stroopwafels?
Stroopwafels are composed of a thin, sugary dough that is waffled in a special mold. The ultra thin waffles must then be split in half, coated with caramel, and sandwiched back together. The caramel solidifies, and the resultant confection is a malty, chewy treat. They can be consumed as-is or softened over a steaming mug of coffee or tea. Fresh stroops are absolutely splendid, but you can see how making waffle dough, taking care to not burn something thin and fragile, and then making and filling them with caramel can be a bit “involved.”
So I combined two delicacies from Italy and many parts of Latin America to make the cheater’s version of this Dutch treat. It’s possibly the laziest hack of all time. Head to the grocery store and grab a jar of dulce de leche and a container of pizelles. They usually come in packs of 24. I’ve seen vanilla, anise, and chocolate pizelles, and while they’d all be good with milk caramel, vanilla will most resemble a classic stroop. They’re usually available in the cookie section of grocery stores, and dulce de leche is often in the “international aisle,” or over by the condensed and evaporated milks.
Crack open the jar (or can) of dulce de leche, and rip open a packet of pizzelles. Use the back of a spoon to smear a spoonful of dulce de leche over one pizzelle, spreading the caramel out almost to the edge of the cookie in a thing layer. (You should be able to see the pizzelle pattern through parts of it.) Then put another pizzelle on top. Gently press and shift the waffles until the caramel is pushed out to the edge.
If you’re making these for yourself, proceed to consume your crunchy, caramel-y creation. If you’re making them for friends or family (and you are willing to expend a tiny bit of effort), dust them with powdered sugar to add a pinch of sophistication.
