The Stroopie Gourmet Debuts This Winter

Dutch waffle cookies you've probably never eaten fresh

When Todd Hartman and Lily Tsay tasted their first stroopwafels on the streets of Amsterdam, they wondered why no one in the Bay Area was making these crisp, thin waffle cookies filled with caramel syrup.

After a year of straining to find the right equipment and organic, local ingredients, they figured out why. Nevertheless, The Stroopie Gourmet made its first official appearance this winter.

When you order one of the cookies ($4), Todd or Lily presses a ball of stiff, spiced dough into the waffle iron. Once cooked, the cookie/waffle is quickly sliced in half, smeared with molten caramel sauce and sandwiched back together.

You can either eat the stroopwafel warm, enjoying the buttery cookie at its crispest point, scooping up the extra caramel as it pools in the paper wrapper–or set it aside to cool, letting caramel and cookie meld.

Equally delicious are the stroopwafels filled with Blue Chair fig jam or one of four other seasonally available preserves.

These days, The Stroopie Gourmet shows up every Thursday at the Point Richmond Farmers' Market; it will also appear this Saturday and Sunday at the Treasure Island Flea.

Wherever they appear, so should you.