The Best Dutch 'Stroopkoeken' Recipe

Mmmmm that's all I can say when I think about 'stroopkoeken'. It's my go-to Dutch treat when I fancy something sweet. I am moving to France in a few months and since they won't be available there I decided I wanted to make some of my own. That way, if I ever fancy them (which is often ;) ) I can just whip them up and have a little piece of Holland. Stroopkoeken would be translated as 'molasses or syrup cookies' and not many foreign people know about them. Yes, they have heard about the (also a favourite of mine) stroopwafels (molasses/syrup waffles) but not about these, which I think is definitely a shame..! So for all the non-Dutch people who have never tried these, and to all the Dutch people who want to make some themselves: here is my recipe for Dutch 'Stroopkoeken'.

Start with gathering the following supplies:

• Kitchen scale
• Mixing bowl
• Parchment paper
• Cooling rack
• Saucepan
• Stirring spoon
• Rolling pin
• Pallet knife
• Beeswax wrap (or plastic wrap)
• Round cookie cutter with fluted edge (about 7 cm diameter)
• Baking tray

Next up: gather all the ingredients.

For the cookie part:

• 300 grams all purpose flour
• 200 grams of butter (room temperature)
• 150 grams white caster sugar
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the molasses part:

• 60 grams of butter
• 100 grams of brown caster sugar
• 200 grams of apple molasses
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

First things first, wash your hands and scrub all those germs off! :) I am using my self-made soap. You can find the instructable here .

Preheat the oven on 160 degrees Celsius or 320 degrees Fahrenheit.

What I like to do is to measure out all the ingredients in separate bowls before you really start the baking. This makes it very convenient and clear along the way.

Now it's time to make the cookies. Start by putting the flour, white caster sugar, butter (200 grams), baking powder, salt and last but not least the egg in a mixing bowl. I like a sturdy glass one like these .

Get ready to use your hands. Roll up your sleeves!

Knead all the ingredients together until it starts forming a ball. This shouldn't take too long. Make sure you don't over knead, this will make the cookies tough, which is the opposite of what you want.

Once your dough forms a ball wrap it up and put it in the fridge for at least half an hour. This will make the butter harden, which makes the dough way easier to handle in the next step. I used my self-made beeswax wraps (you can find the instructable here) , you can ofcourse also find them online . You could also use plastic wrap, but I try to minimize my plastic use wherever I can.

Waited for at least half an hour for the dough to cool? Good, now it's time for the next step: lightly sprinkle your surface with flour. Don't be too sparse though, the longer the dough is out of the fridge, the stickier it gets, so more chance that the dough will stick to your surface.

Grab the dough out of the fridge, unwrap it and place it on your surface. Grab your rolling pin and roll it out until it's about 2 to 3 mm thick.

Grab your cookie cutters and start cutting out some cookies! I used cookie cutters that used to be my grandfathers which I think was really nice. :) You can find similar ones here .

The next step is to carefully take out the in-between dough and put it back in the fridge. This way it can harden again, so the next load of cookies will be just as easy to handle as this one is.

Cover your baking tin with parchment paper.

Now carefully transfer the cookies on the baking tin. I used a pallet knife that once in a former life was used as a stucco knife, but as I know this is not a very common thing to have in your kitchen I recommend using a pallet knife like this one. ;)

Put the cookies in the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes.

Whilst the first batch of cookies is in the oven roll and cut out the second batch.

Check your cookies once or twice during the fifteen minutes, especially in the end. Everyone has different ovens, so baking times might vary a little bit. If the cookies are golden brown they are done.

Your cookies are golden brown? Time to take them out of the oven. And in goes the second batch of cookies. (don't forget to set the timer!)

I like to leave my cookies on the baking tin for a little while after they come out of the oven so they can set a little bit before I transfer them onto the cooling rack. This way there is a way slighter chance of breaking the cookies in the transfer process. In case your cookies are already quite dark because they were left a little too long in the oven I would take them of immediately though, by keeping them on the baking tin they keep on cooking from the downside a little more which can make them even darker.

Once the second (and last) batch of cookies go in the oven you can start making the molasses filling. Start by melting the butter (60 grams) over medium-low heat.

Now add the other molasses ingredients in the steelpan. (Apple molasses, brown sugar and cinnamon)

Stir all the ingredients together and slowly let it cook. Keep on stirring as you don't want the mixture to burn. When all the sugar is dissolved turn off the heat and let the mixture cool off a bit. It is too hot and too runny to handle right away. By this time your second batch of cookies should also have been finished baking and taken out of the oven to cool.

Almost done! Now the fun part, where it all comes together: assemble the 'stroopkoeken'. Start by smearing out the molasses on a cookie. Place another cookie on top and press down a little. Repeat until you used all the cookies.

You did it! You made Dutch 'stroopkoeken'. Now all is left is the final step: ENJOY them! I know I will for sure, especially when I will be living in France and I miss Holland a bit. (or in general, when I fancy them ;) )

If you have any questions feel free to ask me! And if you decide to make them, let me know what you think, I'd also love to see the results!

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