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29 recipes

PepernotenAnise and honey spice drops

When Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands in mid-November, his helpers throw handfuls of pepernoten into the crowd and children find them in their shoes in the morning, until the big present evening of 5 December. Real pepernoten are the old-fashioned kind: soft, chewy, slightly irregular drops of rye flour, honey, anise and spice, paler and chewier than the crunchy kruidnoten sold today. This egg-free dough comes together in minutes. Chef's tip: let the dough rest for an hour so the honey softens the rye and the drops come out chewy, not cakey.

90 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gevulde speculaasAlmond-filled spiced pastry

Gevulde speculaas is a Sinterklaas favourite in the Netherlands from November to 5 December: a thick layer of almond paste baked between two layers of buttery, brown-sugar speculaas dough full of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger, decorated with blanched almonds and cut into squares. It is rich and best with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. Chef's tip: make the almond paste a day ahead and let the dough rest overnight too, so the spices mellow and the layers bake evenly.

85 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

OranjekoekAlmond paste cake with orange icing

On Koningsdag, 27 April, the whole of the Netherlands turns orange: flea markets fill the streets, boats crowd the canals and bakeries sell oranjekoek, a buttery cake with a hidden layer of almond paste under a thick orange glaze. It is cut into neat squares and eaten with coffee between bargain hunting. The almond paste filling is like the one in gevulde koek, sweet and lemony. Chef's tip: let the cake cool fully before icing, or the glaze slides off and goes patchy.

70 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Taai-taaiAnise and honey biscuits

In the Netherlands, taai-taai ('tough-tough') are chewy honey and anise biscuits shaped into figures of Sinterklaas, his horse, windmills, sweethearts and animals, eaten from mid-November until his feast on 5 December. They contain no fat or egg, so they are firm and chewy rather than crisp, and they keep well. Bakers once used carved wooden moulds; cookie cutters work fine. Chef's tip: heat the honey only until runny, then let the dough rest overnight; the rest is what makes the chew.

50 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

KerstkransjesAlmond butter ring biscuits

In the Netherlands, kerstkransjes are small, ring-shaped butter biscuits topped with flaked almonds and pearl sugar, traditionally threaded with a ribbon and hung on the Christmas tree for children to pick off. They are tender and buttery with a lemony crumb and a crunchy top, and keep well in a tin through the holidays. They take about 45 minutes from start to finish. Chef's tip: punch the centre hole slightly bigger than you want; it shrinks as the biscuits bake.

45 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

DuivekaterLemon Christmas bread

Duivekater is an old festive bread from Holland and Zeeland, baked for St Nicholas, Christmas and New Year's Eve. It is a long, flat, glossy loaf of rich, lemon-scented sweet dough, shaped with cuts at both ends that curl like a bone or a pair of legs; bakers once also made it for church feast days. Slices are eaten with butter. Chef's tip: give the shaped loaf a full second rise before cutting the ends, or the cuts close up in the oven.

70 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BanketstaafAlmond paste puff pastry log

From mid-November, when Sinterklaas arrives by boat, Dutch bakers fill their windows with banketstaven: long logs of buttery puff pastry with a thick seam of soft almond paste inside. They carry on through Christmas, and in many families a banketletter, the same pastry shaped into the first letter of a child's name, is part of the 5 December presents. Sliced thick, it is flaky outside and moist, sweet and marzipan-like inside; serve it with coffee or hot chocolate. Leaving a weak seam is the mistake that lets the almond filling burst out in the oven. Chef's tip: make the almond paste a day ahead and rest it in the fridge: the almonds absorb the egg and it bakes up softer and more fragrant.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

OntbijtkoekSpiced rye breakfast cake

Ontbijtkoek means 'breakfast cake', and in Friesland and Groningen, where the best-loved versions come from, a thick slice spread with butter is still a normal start to the day or a mid-morning snack with coffee. The loaf is dark, sticky and springy, made with rye flour and syrup and scented with the Dutch spice mix koekkruiden: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom. It contains no egg and no butter in the batter, and it gets better after a day or two wrapped up. Baking it too hot is the usual mistake; the outside goes bitter before the middle sets, so bake it low and slow. Chef's tip: wrap the loaf in cling film while it is still slightly warm and leave it overnight; it softens into the classic tacky, chewy crust.

85 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BoterkoekButter cake

Boterkoek sits on the counter of almost every Dutch bakker, from Amsterdam to small towns in Brabant: a round, flat butter cake, scored in a criss-cross on top, glossy with glaze, dense and fudgy in the middle and crisp at the edges. It is cut into small wedges, because it is rich, and eaten with a cup of coffee at elf uur, the eleven o'clock break, or offered to visitors. The dough itself has no egg; only the top is brushed with beaten egg for shine (milk works too, though the colour is paler). Overbaking is the classic mistake: it should come out golden but still soft in the centre, so it sets fudgy, not dry. Chef's tip: use salted butter, or add the pinch of salt; it is what stops boterkoek tasting merely sweet.

45 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Krentenbollen (Dutch currant buns)

In the Netherlands a krentenbol, buttered and sometimes topped with a slice of Gouda, is packed in schoolbags for the morning break and eaten with milk after school. The buns are soft, slightly sweet and so full of currants and raisins that there is barely room for the bread. This version adds little sugar, letting the dried fruit sweeten it. It contains gluten and milk. Chef's tip: soak the dried fruit in hot water before kneading it in; dry fruit pulls moisture from the dough and burns on the surface.

50 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

OssenworstSpiced beef sausage

Ossenworst is Amsterdam's own borrel sausage, made since the seventeenth century from lean beef spiced with cloves, nutmeg, mace and white pepper, and sliced thin at cafés in the Jordaan with mustard, pickled onions and gherkins. The traditional sausage is raw and lightly cured, so it is best bought from a specialist Amsterdam butcher, and like all raw meat it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. This home version keeps the same spicing but is gently poached until the centre reaches 71 °C, then chilled and sliced, which makes it safe for everyone. A common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes it dry and crumbly. Chef's tip: keep the water at about 80 °C, never bubbling, and check the core with a thermometer.

80 min

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RookworstSmoked pork sausage

Rookworst, the horseshoe-shaped smoked pork sausage of the Netherlands, is sliced into thick warm coins for borrel boards in winter and served on cocktail sticks at Friday drinks and football nights, always with a pot of strong yellow mustard. It is also the sausage laid on top of stamppot. Rookworst is sold ready-cooked, so it only needs heating through gently. The common mistake is boiling it, which splits the skin and lets the juices escape. Chef's tip: warm it in water that is just steaming, then serve it within minutes so the slices stay juicy.

22 min

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HacheeBeef and onion stew

Hachee is the Dutch stoofpotje that grandmothers in Friesland, Groningen and Brabant leave murmuring on the back of the stove on cold Sundays: beef braised with almost as much onion as meat, plus bay leaves, cloves and a splash of vinegar, until it falls apart into a dark, sweet-sour gravy. It goes on boiled potatoes with red cabbage, or with stamppot, and leftovers are eaten on toast. The usual mistake is rushing the onions: they need a good 15 minutes to turn deep golden, or the gravy stays pale and sharp. Slow-cooker option: after browning, cook on low for 8 hours. Chef's tip: stir in a spoon of dark syrup or apple butter at the end only if the vinegar tastes too sharp; taste first, as good onions often make it unnecessary.

190 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Koffie verkeerdCoffee with extra milk

Order a koffie verkeerd in any Dutch café or bruin café and you get a tall glass that is mostly steamed milk with a strong shot of coffee poured in, the 'wrong' way round compared with a normal black coffee. It is the Dutch morning cup at home and at work, usually with a speculaas biscuit on the saucer. The common mistake is boiling the milk, which makes it taste cooked and kills the foam; heat it only until it steams and small bubbles form at the edge, about 65 °C. Chef's tip: froth the milk by shaking it in a jar with the lid on before warming it in the microwave, and you get café-style foam without a machine.

6 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gevulde koekAlmond-filled cookie

A gevulde koek is two discs of short, buttery dough sandwiching a thick layer of almond paste (spijs), glazed with egg and crowned with half an almond. Every Amsterdam bakery has a stack of them, and they are the classic koffie snack at about eleven in the morning, or something to eat on the bike home from the Noordermarkt. The pastry is crumbly and the middle soft, fragrant and lemony. It contains wheat, egg, milk and almonds. Chef's tip: make the almond paste a day ahead; it firms up and is much easier to shape into neat discs.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Anijsmelk (aniseed milk)

When the canals of Friesland freeze hard and the whole of the Netherlands goes out on skates, koek-en-zopie stalls appear on the ice selling erwtensoep, warm sausage and steaming cups of anijsmelk. At home it is a winter bedtime drink for children and grandparents alike, made either by crushing aniseed into simmering milk or, as many Dutch families do, by stirring in anijsblokjes, sugar cubes flavoured with aniseed. It tastes softly sweet and liquorice-like without being sharp, and it is smooth and warming, with a faint warmth on the tongue. The common mistake is boiling the milk: it rises over the pan, scorches on the base and forms a thick skin. Heat it slowly and stop when tiny bubbles appear around the edge. It is ready when the milk smells clearly of anise after steeping and has turned faintly ivory. Anise seeds are sold in spice shops; in a pinch use one star anise, though it tastes stronger and less sweet. There is no caffeine, which is why Dutch parents serve it at bedtime. Chef's tip: crush the seeds just before using, the oils fade quickly once ground.

10 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

AppelflapApple puff pastry

An appelflap is the snack Amsterdammers pick up at the bakery counter or the Albert Cuyp market on a grey afternoon: a triangle of flaky puff pastry, packed with soft cinnamon apple and plump raisins, its top crackling with sugar. You eat it from a paper bag on a bench by the canal, or with a coffee at about four o'clock, and the filling is always hotter than you expect. Chef's tip: cook the apple filling first and let it cool completely; warm filling melts the butter in the pastry and you lose the layers.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SlempSpiced saffron milk

Slemp is the Dutch holiday drink of earlier centuries: on Sinterklaas evening, around New Year and on skating days in the 18th and 19th centuries, a big kettle of milk was simmered with saffron, mace, cinnamon, cloves, lemon peel and a handful of tea leaves, and ladled into cups for family and visitors. Slemp evenings came back into fashion in Amsterdam museums and village fairs, and you can still buy dried 'slempkruiden' spice mixes in old-fashioned shops. The drink is golden, faintly floral from the saffron, warmly spiced and only lightly sweet, with a soft tea background; a spoon of cornflour gives it a slight body. The common mistake is throwing all the spices straight into boiling milk: cloves turn harsh and the milk catches. Steep the spices in the hot milk below the boil instead, then strain. It is ready when it has turned saffron-gold and smells of cinnamon and mace. The tea adds a small amount of caffeine. Chef's tip: soak the saffron in a spoon of warm milk for ten minutes first; the colour spreads more evenly and you need fewer threads.

25 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeeuwse bolusCinnamon sugar spiral bun

Zeeuwse bolussen are the sticky spiral buns of Zeeland, the delta province in the south-west, brought there, it is said, by Portuguese Jewish bakers in the 17th century: a soft yeast dough rolled in dark brown sugar and cinnamon, twisted into a coil and baked until the sugar caramelises into a sticky, dark crust. Middelburg bakeries sell them with butter. A common mistake is rolling them in too little sugar; they need a thick coat for the caramel. Chef's tip: twist the sugared rope tightly before coiling it, so the sugar is trapped in the folds.

65 min

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Fryske dúmkesAnise and hazelnut biscuits

Dúmkes, 'little thumbs', are crisp, spiced biscuits from Friesland, shaped by pressing the dough with a thumb or rolling it into a log and slicing; their flavour comes from aniseed and toasted hazelnuts, and they are dunked in coffee at Frisian kitchen tables. A common mistake is baking them pale, which leaves them soft; they should be golden and snap when broken. Chef's tip: lightly crush the aniseed before mixing, so its sweet liquorice flavour runs through every bite.

40 min

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Babi pangangCrispy pork in sweet-sour sauce

Babi pangang is one of the most ordered dishes in the 'Chinees-Indisch' restaurants found in every Dutch town: crisp-skinned roast pork belly, sliced and smothered in a bright red, sweet-sour sauce with tomato, ginger and pickled vegetables, served with rice or nasi goreng. This is a pork dish. A common mistake is pouring the sauce over too early, which turns the crackling soft. Chef's tip: dry the skin overnight in the fridge and roast it hot at the end, then pour the sauce around, not over, the pork at the table. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C plus a rest; belly is best cooked longer, until tender.

105 min

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Bossche bolChocolate-dipped cream puff

The Bossche bol is the famous pastry of 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) in North Brabant: a choux bun the size of a tennis ball, filled to bursting with lightly sweetened whipped cream and dipped in glossy dark chocolate. Bakeries like Jan de Groot sell them by the thousand, and you eat it with your hands, leaning over the plate. A common mistake is taking the choux out too early, which makes it collapse. Chef's tip: bake until deep golden, then pierce the base and return to the switched-off oven for 10 minutes to dry out.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Groninger koekRye ginger spice cake

Groninger koek is the dark, chewy spiced rye cake of Groningen, made since the 17th century and sliced thickly and spread with butter for breakfast or coffee time; the 'oudewijvenkoek' version contains aniseed, and others are studded with candied ginger or peel. This recipe is egg- and dairy-free, using syrup for its sweetness and moistness. A common mistake is slicing it on the day of baking; it is sticky and crumbly until it has rested. Chef's tip: wrap the cooled cake tightly and leave it for two days; it becomes moist, dense and sliceable.

90 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fries suikerbroodCinnamon sugar bread

Fries suikerbrood, sûkerbôle in Frisian, is the bread Frisian families bring when a baby is born: a soft white loaf filled with large sugar nibs and cinnamon, so that as it bakes the sugar melts into sticky, crunchy pockets. Leeuwarden bakeries sell it every day, sliced and buttered with coffee. A common mistake is using fine sugar, which dissolves completely; it must be the big pearl sugar nibs. Chef's tip: knead in the sugar only at the end and gently, and bake the loaf in a tin so the melting sugar caramelises against the sides.

80 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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