Amsterdam (I haven’t blogged on here since 2014?!) + Van Stapele Cookies!

Hey! It’s been such a long while that I legit have no more readers or followers on here. What is there to say about life? Last time I wrote on here we had a 6 month-old, now she’s 3 1/2 and as sassy as ever. She was eating basic solids in 2014, now she’s all about good pasta, sushi, semmelknödel, various meats/fish but specifically: duck, salami and salmon (she LOVES salmon), and she will never pass on a milkshake. She is 100% food spoiled. Last week she was home sick, lying on the couch making little whiny noises and when I asked her if she was hungry, I got this response: uhhhh yes, I hungry. I want waffles. Only waffles.

So I made Norwegian heart waffles because they’re fast, easy and they break apart. I’ll share that recipe on here as I go. But first, I want to talk about Amsterdam.

We had the privilege of going to Amsterdam last month and wow! It was gorgeous, and while the diet consisted of a lot of dairy (which I’m not so keen on), I did find and fall in love with Van Stapele cookies. We were stumbling through the city with a very whatever-goes plan as one typically decides when they have a toddler, when we found this little cookie shop on a back street. I went in and got 6 cookies for 14€, which is rather pricey, but I will pay well for something unique and delicious. They are dark chocolate cookies with a melted white chocolate center, and they were AMAZING as we walked around Amsterdam taking in the sites. The 3 y/o loved them.

But when we got back to Germany, I thought yeah, they were good. I can recreate them! And so I sat back and thought of how I wanted them to be. I need a chocolate cookie base that is rich, which means expensive cocoa powder. I bought Valrohna. Then we’ll need a thick circle/square of white chocolate

On Van Stapele’s site, it said she (the owner) took months to perfect her recipe. So the recipe below should be done if you can’t make it to her shop OR you made it there and you can’t go back. I would say try the shop, it’s very authentic and also, with their beautiful tins and blue ribbons, an experience. For the base, I adapted a King Arthur Flour recipe. Here is the important part: the white chocolate should be cut squares, thick and whole. But here is my take on the recipe: 

Van Stapele Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup Valrohna cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon milk (I used oat milk)
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Massive chunks of white chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment.
2. Beat together the butter, sugars, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla until well blended.
3. Add the egg, and milk, beating until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again until smooth. 
4. Add the flour, only to combine.
5. Take 2 Tablespoons of dough into the palm of your hand. Pat into a disc and place the chunk of white chocolate in the center. Now roll it until the dough runs up the sides. Add more to make the white chocolate completely covered and in a ball shape. Do as many as the dough lets you 🙂
6. Bake the cookies for 10 – 12 minutes, until they’ve lost their shiny appearance and look like they’re set. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pans; or transfer to a rack to cool.
7. Yield: about 1 dozen