Imagine trekking a long hike through the Rocky Mountains during the crisp season of Fall. Golden Aspen leaves paint bright hues in patches across the landscape as low laying clouds hang languidly over your head causing a drowsy overcast. Dew hangs in little beads all over the leaves of trees hinting at an early rain which causes some to the break off and swirl to the ground. Crows and Ravens squawk above your head as their calls echo through the forest for what seems like miles. Your legs power uphill as the landscape snakes in sharp curves reveling breathtaking views. Small animals scurry through the brush as White Tailed Deer nibble on red and black berries hanging from large bushes.
Finally, what seems like eternity, your path leads to a tiny quaint log cabin with the inviting smell of burning wood pouring out of the smoke stack that beckons to you. As you push open the heavy wooden door by the cast iron door handle your fatigued body perks up as the smell of cooking waffles, warm caramel, bananas laced with Kush, and the invigorating scent of coffee rushes past you. A warm and familiar smile welcomes you as you embrace. You are sat down by the wood burning stove to warm your stiff body as a simple but delicious treat is brought to you, fresh Banana Kush Spiced Stroopwafels and a big cup of black coffee.
The original Stroopwafel was created in the Western Netherlands in the city of Gouda by a baker named Gerard Kamphuisen in 1784. Kamphuisen used left over pastry scraps, breadcrumbs, and spices to make a waffle batter that wouldn’t let anything go to waste. He then made the waffel on an iron press then cut the warm waffel in half and bonded it together with simple fresh caramel syrup. Because this process was very cheap for the bakery to produce, these waffels became very popular among the poor.
This delicious treat began to gain rapid popularity that by the 19th century there were over 100 bakeries offering Stroopwafels in the city of Gouda. Stroopwafels also began to become a popular street food by vendors at open markets and still to this day can be purchased fresh on the street. Stroopwafel bakeries and vendors began spreading outside of the city of Gouda and began becoming a staple in the culture. By the 20th century, Stroopwafel production shifted to meet a higher market demand by opening factories to mass produce these popular delights.
Today, Stroopwafels are made with premium ingredients rather than bakery scraps and many recipes are passed down generation to generation in families. Family recipes are closely guarded in this culture and are only shared within the family. Recipes consist of yeast, water or milk, eggs, flour, brown sugar, butter, freshly made caramel sauce, and spices. Traditionally these sweet waffels are eaten in the morning at home or picked up on the street from a vendor and enjoyed with coffee or tea.
For Holland, Stroopwafels are not only important staple for the people but also an important component in the tourist image of the country. Both native and tourist people line the streets waiting for their sweet breakfast treat as the scent of fresh made waffels waft through the markets. These waffels are also a very vital export and are shipped all over the world.
Banana Kush is the California cross of the iconic OG Kush and Sagarmatha creating a wonderful Indica Dominant Hybird at 60/40. This powerful strain packs a THC percentage between 18% and 20% THC, and has even been known to surpass this percentage based on the talent of the grower’s hand. This plant is not a high yielder, but the flowers it produces is worth every bit of energy put in to grow this plant. Highly medicinal and flavored, this strain is popular among cannabis enthusiasts and patients alike.
Medicinally, this strain has a great balance between body and cerebral effects. The effects are by no means a creeper and will hit the consumer fast shortly after consuming an edible or partaking in its sweet smoke. The consumer will experience an intense deep body stone that provides relief from aches, pain, anxiety, stiff joints, migraines, lack of appetite, eating disorders, glaucoma, and insomnia.
While the cerebral effects provide a more complex mix of stimulation, creativity, inspiration, a dreamlike state, and relief from depression to the partaker. Banana Kush is best used after a long day of exercise to help aid in recovery, in conjunction with a nap on a lazy afternoon, in the evening where nothing demanding is required of you, or at night when you want to unwind with a hot cup of herbal tea. The sweet Banana flavors with Kush and spiced undertones pair so perfectly with the spiced caramel and waffel. It is very reminiscent of bananas foster poured over fresh made waffels on the pallet. It is certainly a treat, and from my kitchen to yours, I hope you enjoy it!
Mise en place for the Waffel:
- 1 pizzelle Iron or Stroopwafel Press
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup LouAnna Coconut Oil
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup warm water (not hot!)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons Dry Active Yeast
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Extra coconut oil (non-medicated) and a pastry brush
Directions:
- Bloom the yeast in a Kitchen Aid mixer or hand mixing bowl by combining the warm water and the dry active yeast. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- After the yeast is done blooming, add in 1 cup of flour. Using your fingers or a spoon, take some coconut oil in small clumps and place on top of the flour. Repeat this process till all of the flour and coconut oil is used up.
- Now add in the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and eggs. Using the dough hook on your Kitchen Aid (use a wooden spoon or dough hand mixer if you do not have one) mix the ingredients on the 2nd lowest speed until fully mixed. Divide the dough into 28 even servings (use scale to measure out the dough evenly) and place on the counter covered with saran wrap.
- Heat up your pizzelle maker and then oil gently by brushing on a light amount of coconut oil. Take one dough portion then cut it in half. Roll each half into a small ball and place each portion into each section of the iron (these irons have two waffel spots). Follow the directions of your maker and lift the lid when the machine says it is done.
- You must move quickly otherwise your waffels will rapidly darken and may burn. Gently lift each waffel off the iron and place onto a cooling rack. Repeat this process until all the dough is gone. Traditionally, each waffel is thinly sliced then sandwiched with caramel sauce, but I find these to be more enjoyable when the caramel is sandwiched between two thinner individual waffels.
Mise en place for the Spiced Caramel:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup LouAnna Coconut Oil infused with 7 grams of Banana Kush*
- ¼ cup Kayo corn syrup plus 2 Tablespoons
- 5 teaspoons Mexican Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice
- Wooden spoon and 1 small sauce pan
Directions:
- Melt the coconut oil on low heat. Add in the sugar, vanilla extract, and corn syrup. Stir until fully combined.
- Now add the pumpkin spice. Keep stirring this mixture on low until the caramel begins to bubble and thicken up. You must continually stir otherwise you can burn the sauce.
- Once the caramel is creamy and coats the back of the wooden spoon, take it off the heat and begin the next step fast. This caramel recipe will make 1 cup with 3 tbsp. and 1 tsp or 34 teaspoons.
To make the Stroopwafel:
- Take one waffel and scoop out exactly 2 teaspoons onto the center. Spread evenly then add another waffel on top to sandwich the caramel sauce. Continue to do this until you run out of caramel sauce which will be exactly 17 medicated waffels.
- You will have enough waffels left over to make 11 non-medicated ones for family and friends who wish to have a non-medicated version. All you need to do is repeat the caramel sauce step with a new pan and non-medicated coconut oil. This option of medicated and non-medicated waffels allows for everybody in the family to enjoy the delicious treat.
Dosage:
This particular Banana Kush has 18% THC, which translates into 74mg for each Stroopwafel. But what if my Banana Kush has a different THC content as the range is 18%-20%? Every 1 gram of cannabis bud or concentrate has 1,000mg of dry weight. If a strain of cannabis flower has for example 20% THC per gram, 20 percent of 1,000mg would be 200mg. So that means if you baked in 7 grams of this flower into a recipe, you would have 1400mg of THC in the product. Then if you had 17 servings, it would be 1400 divided by 17 which = 82.4 mg.