At the end of the 2023-2024 school year, teachers were given three tickets to put towards different items in an end-of-the-school-year raffle.  The items varied in quality and value, ranging from random coffee stuff to an Amazon gift card.  Naturally, the big(ger)-ticket items attracted the most tickets, so yours portly played the odds:  I put all three of my tickets in the random assortment of coffee stuff.

I was not surprised, but was still excited, when I won the item.  The coffee was pretty good, and I still have the basket and the mug that came with it.  But the best part of the collection was the box of Stroopwafels (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchase made through that link, at no additional cost to you—and you should definitely get some Stroopwafels).

If you’ve never had them before, the concept is simple:  you pour your steaming hot cup of coffee, then place a Stroopwafel on top of the mug for a few minutes.  The result is that the delicious caramel filling heats up to an oozy, flavorful consistency, and you have the perfect companion snack to accompany your cup of joe.

Naturally, a man of my generous proportions enjoyed this toothsome Dutch treat.  What I enjoyed almost as much as the Stroopwafels, though, was making a truly absurd, three-part YouTube Shorts series based on the flavorful concoction.

Of course, the entire premise of these videos is that I am doing a ridiculous German accent.  The last time I checked, the Germans are one of the few nationalities we’re still allowed to tease, so I think I am safe (although the second video in this series has a 20%-80% like-to-dislike ratio, which is probably on par with the trailer for Disney’s new Snow White movie).

So, without further ado, here is my Stroopwafel series:

Stroopwafel Soothes German Ennui, Part 1

Stroopwafel Soothes German Ennui, Part 2

Stroopwafel Soothes German Ennui, Part 3

There you have it, readers—the riveting story of one German man’s climb from the depths of bitter ennui to the heights of culinary flavor.

Happy Friday!

—TPP