Plan a Belgian Waffle Tour 

Sweeten your European itinerary with a trip to waffle country.

Topping overload near the Grand Place in Brussels

Belgium is a country overflowing with rich history, beautiful architecture, and captivating folklore, but its most delicious tradition is arguably the Belgian waffle. Satisfy your sweet tooth at these Belgian waffle hot spots.

The Brussels waffle, which debuted at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, is the forefather of America’s Belgian waffle. But they aren’t the same—the Belgium capital’s is more of a snack, often covered in strawberries and whipped cream or chocolate. The yeast version (America’s is yeast free) is available at any waffle stand but is best fresh off the iron at 187-year-old

Stack of waffle cookies, sometimes referred to in Belgium as lukken, meaning luck

East of Brussels, in Belgium’s Wallonia region, waffles lose the square shape to become an amorphous pressed-dough delight called the Liège waffle. The recipe, also yeast-based, is infused with pearl sugar that forms a crispy caramelized coating in the waffle iron. Pollux, a café off the Place de la Cathédrale, melts a chocolate bar right into the batter, but the plain sugar option is just as tasty.

Small, buttery waffle cookies are known by a few names depending on the region: lukken, good luck cookies, or nieuwjaarswafeltjes, New Year’s cookies. Recipes are passed down through family, and the treat is traditionally served on New Year’s. They look like their larger cousins on the surface but are thin and crunchy and, if two are put together, hold fillings like caramel, chocolate, ice cream, or almond paste.

© 1996-Thu Jul 07 13:52:33 EDT 2016 National Geographic Society.

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