The Atlas · The Netherlands' Largest Department

Dutch Desserts & Sweets

52 of Netherlands's 115 ranked dishes are sweets, 45.2% of the whole cuisine and its single biggest department. By our raters the best is Stroopwafel, the caramel-filled Gouda cookie, Nº 514 in the world.

52 dishes ranked·45.2% of the cuisine·1,734 diner ratings·Top rank Nº 514

The Dutch sweet tooth runs to the bakery counter more than the dessert trolley. 52 of the country's ranked dishes are sweets, nearly half its cuisine, and they lean hard toward the handheld: cookies, sticky pastries and sugar-studded breads made for coffee, not the end of a meal. The caramel stroopwafel from Gouda leads them all, with the spiced speculaas close behind on fame.

Fame and rating point the same way for once. Stroopwafel is both the best-rated Dutch sweet and the most-reviewed, at 332 ratings, so the household name and the top score are one cookie. Behind it sit café staples like appeltaart and the almond-filled gevulde koek, while the deepest regional seams run through Limburg and Groningen. Read them below: the signature sweets, by region, or the complete list of all 52.

The Signature Sweets

Twelve signature sweets in rank order, four told in full, then eight more from the bakery counter.

Stroopwafel, cookie from Netherlands
Plate ICookie · Gouda

1Nº 514 worldwide

Stroopwafel

Cookie · Gouda

Two thin, crisp waffle wafers pressed around a layer of warm caramel syrup, invented in Gouda as a baker's way of using up crumbs and leftovers. The classic move is to rest one over a hot cup of coffee until the caramel inside goes soft and gooey.

★ 4.1|332 ratings

Zeeuwse bolus, sweet pastry from Netherlands

2Zeeuwse bolusNº 1,607

Sweet Pastry · Zeeland

A sticky, gooey coil of sweet dough rolled in cinnamon and brown sugar, close to a cinnamon bun and best eaten warm. A specialty of the province of Zeeland, the bolus is torn apart and, by tradition, eaten from the sticky side down.

★ 3.9|21 ratings

Nonnevot, sweet pastry from Netherlands

3NonnevotNº 2,348

Sweet Pastry · Limburg

A knotted, deep-fried pastry from Limburg with roots reaching back to at least the 1600s, its dough enriched with butter and lard and dusted with sugar. The name means nun's tail, and it belongs to Carnival season in the Dutch south.

★ 3.8|12 ratings

Suikerbrood, sweet bread from Netherlands

4SuikerbroodNº 2,506

Sweet Bread · Friesland

A soft, sweet bread studded with lumps of pearl sugar that stay whole and crunchy through the bake, a Frisian specialty tied to Easter. Sliced and spread with butter, the melting sugar pockets are the whole point.

★ 3.8|61 ratings

  1. Appeltaart, sweet pie from Netherlands5

    Appeltaart

    Nº 2,860

    Sweet Pie · Netherlands★ 3.8

  2. Gevulde koek, cookie from Netherlands6

    Gevulde koek

    Nº 3,609

    Cookie · Netherlands★ 3.7

  3. Stoofpeertjes, dessert from Netherlands7

    Stoofpeertjes

    Nº 4,378

    Dessert · Netherlands★ 3.7

  4. Appelbeignet, deep-fried dessert from Netherlands8

    Appelbeignet

    Nº 4,387

    Deep-fried Dessert · Netherlands★ 3.7

  5. Haagse bluf, dessert from Netherlands9

    Haagse bluf

    Nº 4,484

    Dessert · The Hague★ 3.7

  6. Speculaas, cookie from Netherlands10

    Speculaas

    Nº 4,695

    Cookie · Netherlands★ 3.7

  7. Boterkoek, cake from Netherlands11

    Boterkoek

    Nº 4,789

    Cake · Netherlands★ 3.7

  8. Arretje nof, chocolate cake from Netherlands12

    Arretje nof

    Nº 5,099

    Chocolate Cake · Netherlands★ 3.6

The Gazetteer

Where the Dutch sweets are made

The provinces of the Netherlands with the deepest baking traditions. Choose one to filter the complete ledger below.

Placed dishes only · top 6 regions

  7. Another 34 ranked dishes are logged simply as pan-Dutch, with no single regional home.

The Complete Ledger

All 52 Dutch desserts & sweets in the world ranking, every entry.

52 entries
  1. 514 Stroopwafel Cookie Gouda ★ 4.1
  2. 1,607 Zeeuwse bolus Sweet Pastry Zeeland ★ 3.9
  3. 2,348 Nonnevot Sweet Pastry Limburg ★ 3.8
  4. 2,506 Suikerbrood Sweet Bread Friesland ★ 3.8
  5. 2,860 Appeltaart Sweet Pie Netherlands ★ 3.8
  6. 3,609 Gevulde koek Cookie Netherlands ★ 3.7
  7. 4,378 Stoofpeertjes Dessert Netherlands ★ 3.7
  8. 4,387 Appelbeignet Deep-fried Dessert Netherlands ★ 3.7
  9. 4,484 Haagse bluf Dessert The Hague ★ 3.7
  10. 4,695 Speculaas Cookie Netherlands ★ 3.7
  11. 4,789 Boterkoek Cake Netherlands ★ 3.7
  12. 5,099 Arretje nof Chocolate Cake Netherlands ★ 3.6
  13. 5,101 Groninger koek Sweet Bread Groningen ★ 3.6
  14. 5,164 Hangop Dessert Netherlands ★ 3.6
  15. 5,232 Ijzerkoekje Cookie Vlaardingen ★ 3.6
  16. 6,082 Arnhemse meisjes Cookie Arnhem ★ 3.6
  17. 6,111 Vlaai Sweet Pie Limburg ★ 3.6
  18. 6,196 Poffert Sweet Bread Groningen ★ 3.6
  19. 6,207 Fryske dúmkes Cookie Friesland ★ 3.6
  20. 6,208 Letterbanket Sweet Pastry Netherlands ★ 3.6
  21. 6,238 Oliebol Sweet Pastry Netherlands ★ 3.5
  22. 6,505 Krentenweggen Sweet Bread Netherlands ★ 3.5
  23. 6,730 Ananasbeignets Deep-fried Dessert Netherlands ★ 3.5
  24. 7,313 Jan Hagel Cookie Netherlands ★ 3.4
  25. 7,603 Kruidnoten Cookie Netherlands ★ 3.3
  26. 7,624 Kerststol Sweet Bread Netherlands ★ 3.3
  27. 7,654 Boerenjongens Fruit Salad Groningen ★ 3.3
  28. 7,742 Appelflap Sweet Pastry Netherlands ★ 3.3
  29. 7,767 Vla Custard Netherlands ★ 3.3
  30. 7,921 Jodenkoek Cookie Netherlands ★ 3.3
  31. 7,928 Bokkepootjes Cookie Netherlands ★ 3.3
  32. 7,953 Tompouce Cake Netherlands ★ 3.2
  33. 8,021 Moorkop Sweet Pastry Netherlands ★ 3.2
  34. 8,037 Griesmeelpudding Pudding Netherlands ★ 3.2
  35. 8,050 Rijstevlaai Sweet Pie Limburg ★ 3.2
  36. 8,126 Kletskop Cookie Leiden ★ 3.2
  37. 8,164 Bossche bol Sweet Pastry 's-Hertogenbosch ★ 3.2
  38. 8,244 Borstplaat Dessert Netherlands ★ 3.1
  39. 8,262 Krentenbollen Sweet Bread Netherlands ★ 3.1
  40. 8,309 Bitterkoekjes Cookie Netherlands ★ 3.1
  41. 8,346 Banket Sweet Pastry Netherlands ★ 3.1
  42. 8,434 Roze Koek Dessert Netherlands ★ 3.0
  43. 8,454 Space Cake Cake Amsterdam ★ 3.0
  44. 8,509 Krakeling Cookie Netherlands ★ 2.9
  45. 8,633 Ontbijtkoek Sweet Bread Netherlands ★ 2.8
  46. 8,701 Taai-taai Cookie Netherlands ★ 2.6
  47. 8,715 Pepernoot Cookie Netherlands ★ 2.6
  48. 8,933 D Dikke koek Sweet Bread Netherlands ★ 0.0
  49. 9,403 Weesper moppen Cookie Weesp ★ 0.0
  50. 9,686 Gemberbolus Sweet Pastry Netherlands ★ 0.0
  51. 9,848 J Jan in de zak Pudding Netherlands ★ 0.0
  52. 10,208 Hoornse broeder Sweet Bread Hoorn ★ 0.0

Questions, Answered

Dutch desserts & sweets, frequently asked, answered from 1,734 ratings.

What is the best Dutch dessert?
By our diners' ratings it's the stroopwafel, Nº 514 worldwide, the caramel-filled cookie from Gouda. Behind it come the cinnamon-coiled Zeeuwse bolus of Zeeland, Limburg's knotted nonnevot, and the pearl-sugar suikerbrood of Friesland.
What are the Netherlands known for in desserts?
Bakery sweets rather than plated puddings. Of its 52 ranked desserts most are cookies, sticky pastries and sugar breads built for coffee: the stroopwafel, spiced speculaas, café appeltaart and the almond gevulde koek sold at nearly every train-station kiosk. It is a handheld, coffee-table sweet tooth.
What is the most famous Dutch sweet?
The stroopwafel, with 332 ratings, is both the most-reviewed and the highest-rated Dutch sweet, so fame and score land on the same cookie here. The spiced speculaas is the other household name, second on reviews with 186 ratings.
What is a stroopwafel?
A stroopwafel is two thin, crisp waffle wafers pressed around a layer of warm caramel syrup, first made in Gouda. The classic move is to rest one over a hot cup of coffee so the caramel softens before you eat it. It ranks Nº 514 in the world.
Which region of the Netherlands makes the most desserts?
Among sweets with a named home, Limburg and Groningen tie at the top with three ranked desserts each, Limburg for its Carnival nonnevot and Groningen for its spiced Groninger koek. Friesland follows with two. Most of the ledger is logged simply as pan-Dutch.
Where else should I look for great desserts?
The pastry nations, above all: worldwide the department runs to 2,151 sweets from 154 countries, topped by Algeria's almond makroud at Nº 8, not by any Dutch cookie. Nearer home, France fields 114 ranked desserts and Germany 49. See Desserts & Sweets worldwide.

This Department, Elsewhere

Desserts & sweets from the Netherlands' neighbours, ranked the same way.

FrenchDesserts & Sweets114GermanDesserts & Sweets49AustrianDesserts & Sweets28SwissDesserts & Sweets16BelgianDesserts & Sweets15LuxembourgishDesserts & Sweets4
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