15 Best Dutch Desserts You Need to Try
A guide to the best Dutch desserts to try, from stroopwafels, poffertjes and appeltaart to tompouce, oliebollen, bossche bol, vlaai, hagelslag and more.
May 24, 2026 · 15 min read
Dutch cuisine gets unfairly dismissed. Visitors assume it's all brown bread, cheese, and stamppot. Then they stumble into a bakery on a cold afternoon in Amsterdam, order a tompouce with a coffee, and rethink everything.
The Netherlands has a genuine dessert culture. It's not as famous as French pastry or Belgian chocolate, but it doesn't need to be. Dutch sweets are honest, comforting, and deeply tied to local rituals, seasons, and celebrations. Stroopwafels were invented from bakery scraps. Oliebollen have been eaten on New Year's Eve for centuries. Appeltaart appears at almost every Dutch birthday table.
This list covers the 15 best Dutch desserts worth seeking out, including where to find each one, what to order, and what makes it genuinely special.
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1. Stroopwafel
If the Netherlands has a national cookie, it's the stroopwafel. Two thin, crispy waffle rounds pressed together with a thick layer of caramel syrup, or stroop in Dutch. The texture is the whole point: the outside snaps, the inside is chewy, and the caramel coats everything in a warm sweetness that's hard to put down.
The stroopwafel was born in Gouda around 1810, most likely in the kitchen of baker Gerard Kamphuisen. It came out of thrift: bakers had piles of crumbs, broken biscuit dough, and leftover bits at the end of the day. Instead of throwing them away, Kamphuisen pressed those scraps between a hot waffle iron, sliced the thin round in half while it was still warm, and glued the two layers together with a thick caramel-like syrup. The result was cheap, portable, and deeply satisfying.
Gouda soon had more than 100 stroopwafel bakers, and the treat became known as "armenkoeken", a poor people's cookie, sold for a few cents at markets. Today it's anything but humble. Dutch households consume around 22 million packages per year, and stroopwafels have found their way into offices and airline cabins globally.
The proper way to eat one: balance it on top of your coffee cup for 30 seconds before eating. The steam softens the caramel from the inside out. It's a small ritual that every Dutch person knows and most visitors never discover.
Where to find the best: The Albert Cuyp Market in Amsterdam, the Stroopwafel Workshop on Albert Cuypstraat 194, or the original bakeries in Gouda itself. Supermarket stroopwafels from Daelmans are the reliable everyday version.
2. Poffertjes
Poffertjes look like miniature pancakes but they're something quite different. Made with yeast and buckwheat flour, they are baked in a special pan called a poffertjespan, and usually served warm on a piece of cardboard paper when prepared outdoors at festivals and outdoor events.
The buckwheat flour gives them a slightly nutty, earthy undertone that plain pancake batter doesn't have. They come out of the pan puffed and golden, with a soft, almost hollow center. The default topping is one of the best: melted butter and powdered sugar, eaten with a toothpick that has a Dutch flag on it. Other toppings include Nutella, syrup, fresh fruit, or a liqueur like advocaat.
It is believed that poffertjes have roots in a Dutch Abbey, where they were used as a type of communion host. Whatever their origin, they've been a fixture at Dutch markets, fairs, and winter festivals for hundreds of years.
Where to find them: Any outdoor market or festival in the Netherlands will have a poffertjes stand. In Amsterdam, the Albert Cuyp Market is reliable year-round. Look for a dedicated poffertjessalon in smaller Dutch towns, which are warm, kitschy, and genuinely enjoyable on a cold day.
3. Appeltaart (Dutch Apple Pie)
The first recorded recipe of a Dutch apple pie comes from as far back as 1514, so this sweet treat has a long tradition in the Netherlands. What makes it different from other apple pies is the depth and spice. The main ingredients are a shell of thick pastry with a filling of sliced apple, usually a crisp and tart variety. Dutch apple pies typically contain lemon juice and cinnamon, and can also include almond paste, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
Dutch apple pie comes in two main varieties: appeltaart, with a latticed lid made from strands of pastry, and appelkruimeltaart, with a lid made using a crumbly mixture of oats, flour, and butter.
It is usually served at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream, what the Dutch call appeltaart met slagroom. This is non-negotiable for most Dutch people. Skipping the slagroom is considered a mild act of defiance.
Where to find the best: Winkel 43 on Noordermarkt in Amsterdam has a long-standing reputation as serving the best appeltaart in the city. The queue on Saturday mornings is your evidence.
4. Tompouce
Tompouce is one of the most recognizable Dutch pastries. It is made with layers of puff pastry, sweet cream filling, and a bright pink glaze on top. On King's Day, the glaze is often orange instead of pink, matching the national color of the Netherlands.
Legend has it that the name tompouce is derived from the pastry's resemblance to the hat worn by a disgruntled politician named Tom Pouce. Regardless of its origin, the tompouce is beloved precisely because of how impractical it is to eat.
The funny thing about tompouce is that it is almost impossible to eat neatly. The cream pushes out, the pastry cracks, and most Dutch people have their own method for attacking it. Some use a fork, some separate the layers, and some simply accept the mess. That makes tompouce more than just a pastry. It is a small Dutch food experience.
Where to find it: Any Dutch bakery (bakkerij) will have tompouce, usually priced between EUR 2 and EUR 3.50. Order one with coffee on a slow weekday morning and eat it with absolutely no dignity.
5. Oliebollen
The first recipe for oliebollen can be found in a cookbook from 1667 called "De verstandige kock" (the wise cook). Those early oil cakes were flat and filled with raisins, apples, and almonds.
Oliebollen are thought to have first been eaten by Germanic tribes hundreds of years ago around the Yuletide, as offerings to the Germanic goddess Perchta. It was believed that the fat in treats such as oliebollen would make her sword slide across the bellies of those who ate them, saving their lives. Today they're slightly less dramatic: just fried balls of dough dusted with powdered sugar and eaten outside on a cold evening.
Oliebollen are traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve. While oliebollen are available from pop-up stands all winter long, New Year's Eve is the main event. In some households it is tradition to make them during the day and eat them at midnight.
Plain oliebollen are the classic. Filled versions with raisins, apple pieces, or custard are widely available at the oliebollenkraam stands that pop up across Dutch cities every December.
Where to find them: Oliebollen stands appear in late November and stay open through January 1st. In Amsterdam, the stands around Leidseplein and Vondelpark are consistently good. Buy them hot, eat them outside, and don't worry about the powdered sugar on your jacket.
6. Bossche Bol
Bossche bollen are large cream-filled pastries covered in chocolate. They come from the city of 's-Hertogenbosch, often called Den Bosch. A bossche bol is bigger than a typical cream puff, filled with whipped cream, and coated in a thick layer of dark chocolate.
This is not a light snack. It is rich, messy, and best eaten with coffee. Locals in Den Bosch eat them with two hands and treat the inevitable chocolate mess as a given. The city takes genuine pride in this pastry. Bakery Jan de Groot on the Markt has been selling them for decades and is widely considered the original and best.
Where to find them: You can find bossche bollen in Dutch bakeries nationally, but visiting Den Bosch specifically for one is worth the trip. The train from Amsterdam takes about 75 minutes.
7. Speculaas
Speculaas are spiced cookies popular in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. With an intense fragrance of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, they are traditionally baked on the eve of St Nicholas Day, celebrated on December 5 and 6. Before going to bed, children put their shoes by the chimney, and if they behaved well, they find speculaas inside the next morning.
The spice blend is the whole point. Speculaaskruiden, the pre-made spice mixture sold in every Dutch supermarket, contains cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, white pepper, anise, cardamom, and ginger in proportions that vary slightly between brands. Opening a packet of speculaas cookies in October fills a room with what the Dutch call the smell of winter.
Large speculaas figures, often shaped as Sint Nicholas or windmills, are sold in bakeries during November and December. Speculaaspasta, a spreadable paste made from ground speculaas cookies, has developed a devoted following as a hagelslag alternative.
Where to find them: Available year-round in every Dutch supermarket. Albert Heijn's own-brand speculaas are solid. During November and December, look for freshly baked versions in bakeries for a noticeably better result.
8. Vla
Vla is possibly the most Dutch dessert on this list, in that it's almost completely unknown outside the country. The most popular choice for a dessert after dinner in Dutch households is vla, which translates roughly as custard. It is sold in one-liter packs for pouring into a dessert bowl.
It's thinner than British custard and less sweet than American pudding. Chocolate vla and vanilla vla are the most common. Hopjesvla, flavored with coffee caramel, is the version adults tend to prefer. The drinkable custard, known as drinkvla, comes in small cartons and is a staple in Dutch school lunchboxes.
Vla feels mundane until you realize you've eaten it three evenings in a row. It's that kind of dessert.
Where to find it: Every Dutch supermarket. Mona is the most trusted brand. Pour it cold over fresh strawberries in summer.
9. Hagelslag
Hagelslag is chocolate sprinkles on buttered bread, served as a breakfast or lunch. This is not a children's food. Dutch adults eat it daily with zero embarrassment, and the Netherlands consumes an estimated 14 million kilograms of hagelslag every year.
The key detail visitors miss: real hagelslag must contain at least 35% cocoa to be legally labeled "chocolate" in the Netherlands. The Dutch take this seriously. The chocolate variety (chocoladehagelslag) is the classic. Fruit hagelslag and anise hagelslag (muisjes) are also popular, with muisjes specifically eaten on bread to celebrate a new baby in the family.
Where to buy it: Every Dutch supermarket carries multiple varieties. De Ruijter is the classic brand and the benchmark. Buy a box to take home. It's one of the few food souvenirs that tastes as good at home as it does in the Netherlands.
10. Gevulde Koek
Gevulde koeken are almond-filled cookies with a rich, dense texture and a smooth almond paste center. They're round, flat, and about the size of a large biscuit. The outer layer is a crumbly shortcrust pastry; the inside is a thick disc of amandelspijs, Dutch almond paste made from ground almonds, sugar, and egg.
A single almond pressed into the center before baking is the signature finishing touch. The contrast between the buttery pastry and the slightly sweet, dense almond filling makes gevulde koek one of the more satisfying Dutch baked goods, particularly with afternoon coffee.
Where to find them: Available in every Dutch bakery and most supermarkets. Bakeries tend to make theirs denser and more almond-forward than packaged versions.
11. Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake)
Boterkoek has a rich, buttery taste that makes it unlike almost any other baked good. It's a flat, dense cake made primarily from butter, sugar, and flour, with almost no leavening agent. The result is closer to a thick shortbread than a traditional cake: firm on the outside, soft and yielding inside, with a deeply buttery flavor that intensifies as it cools.
It's sold by the slice or as a whole round. Dutch bakeries often press an almond or a fork pattern into the top before baking, giving it a slightly decorative look for what is essentially a very simple recipe.
Where to find it: Bakeries throughout the Netherlands. The Hague has a particularly strong tradition of boterkoek and several bakeries in the city center sell exceptional versions.
12. Vlaai
Vlaai is a sweet pie mostly eaten in the southern province of Limburg. The dough is made with yeast and is filled with a variety of things: fruit such as strawberries, cherries, or apple, or rice or semolina.
While Americans typically celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with cake, the Dutch in Limburg mark life's milestones with vlaai. The yeast dough gives it a different texture from a standard pastry: slightly chewy, with a subtle tang that balances the sweetness of the filling.
Cherry vlaai (kersenvlaai) and rice vlaai (rijstevlaai) are the most traditional. Visiting Maastricht without trying a slice at a local bakery is a genuine missed opportunity.
Where to find it: Primarily in Limburg province. Maastricht is the best city to try vlaai. A handful of specialty Dutch bakeries in Amsterdam also carry it.
13. Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake)
Ontbijtkoek translates directly as "breakfast cake." It's a dense, moist loaf cake made with rye flour, honey, and a warming blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and anise. The texture is similar to dark gingerbread but less sweet and more intensely spiced.
It's eaten cold, sliced and spread generously with butter, traditionally at breakfast or as a mid-morning snack. The Dutch eat it without any sense that cake for breakfast requires explanation.
Peijnenburg is the dominant brand and the benchmark. The "original" (naturel) variety is the starting point. Honey-glazed versions and variants with whole grains have appeared in recent years for a slightly updated take.
Where to find it: Every Dutch supermarket. It keeps well for weeks and makes an excellent food souvenir.
14. Kruidnoten and Pepernoten
Kruidnoten are small, round gingerbread cookies roughly the size of a bottle cap. They come plain or covered in milk, dark, or white chocolate. Pepernoten are the older, chewier, anise-flavored version that predates kruidnoten and inspires genuine debate about which came first.
Kruidnoten are infused with traditional Dutch spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and are the perfect snack to enjoy during the festive season. Dutch shops start stocking them in mid-September, earlier each year by most accounts, which is a reliable source of mild national complaint.
The Sinterklaas tradition involves throwing handfuls of kruidnoten at children. This is considered festive and not unusual.
Where to find them: Every Dutch supermarket from September through December. Van Delft Biscuits sells artisanal varieties with unusual flavors including truffle and tiramisu at pop-up shops before Sinterklaas.
15. Haagse Hopjes
Haagse hopjes are coffee-flavored hard candies from The Hague. They are small hard candies with a caramel and coffee taste. The name is connected to Baron Hendrik Hop, who lived in The Hague and is often linked to the origin story of the sweet.
They're the kind of candy that feels old-fashioned in the best sense. Small, dark brown, and individually wrapped in black-and-gold paper, hopjes are a Dutch institution. The coffee-caramel flavor is distinctive and not overly sweet. They're sold as gifts, eaten with afternoon coffee, and given to visitors as an introduction to Dutch confectionery.
Where to find them: Specialty candy shops in The Hague carry the best versions. They're also available at Hema stores nationally and in the candy sections of larger Albert Heijn supermarkets.
Where to Buy Dutch Desserts
Markets are great for stroopwafels and poffertjes. Cafes are ideal for appeltaart with whipped cream. Bakeries are best for boterkoek, tompouce, and regional pastries. Supermarkets are useful for everyday sweets like vla, ontbijtkoek, hagelslag, and packaged stroopwafels.
The Albert Cuyp Market in Amsterdam's De Pijp neighborhood is the single best place to try multiple Dutch desserts in one visit. Stroopwafels, poffertjes, and appelflappen are all made fresh at market stalls and eaten standing up, which is the correct way.
Dutch Desserts by Season
| Season | What to eat |
|---|---|
| Spring (King's Day, April 27) | Orange-glazed tompouce |
| Summer | Appeltaart met slagroom, poffertjes at outdoor markets |
| Autumn | Speculaas, ontbijtkoek, first oliebollen stalls open |
| Winter (Sinterklaas and New Year) | Kruidnoten, oliebollen, pepernoten, kerststol |
Dutch desserts reward the curious. The most interesting ones are the regional specialties: a bossche bol in Den Bosch, a cherry vlaai in Maastricht, haagse hopjes in The Hague. Each city has its own sweet tradition, and eating your way through them is one of the better arguments for exploring beyond Amsterdam.
Planning to move to the Netherlands? Read our complete guide: Moving to the Netherlands: Complete Expat Checklist 2025.
Sources and Further Reading
- TasteAtlas: 60 Best Desserts in the Netherlands
- DutchReview: Oliebollen: The Traditional Dutch New Year's Snack
- FunAmsterdam: Stroopwafel History: The Story Behind the Dutch Icon
- AboutNL: Traditional Dutch Pastries
- Center of Holland: Traditional Netherlands Desserts
- Netherlands Tourism: Official Dutch Food and Culture
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