Traditional Dutch Cookies: A Guide to Holland's 10 Best Koekjes

The Netherlands takes cookies seriously. The Dutch word koekje — "little cake" — is literally where the English word "cookie" comes from, brought to America by Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam. So when it comes to traditional Dutch cookies, you're looking at the original source material. Here are the ten classics every koekje lover should know.

1. Stroopwafel

The king. Two paper-thin waffle layers pressed around gooey cinnamon caramel, invented in Gouda in the early 1800s — bakery lore credits Banketbakkerij Kamphuisen. The ritual matters as much as the cookie: rest it on a hot cup of coffee until the caramel softens, then eat. Read our full guide to what a stroopwafel is, or make them yourself if you own a pizzelle iron. We bake them fresh daily at our Georgia bakery — the classic version and a protein-packed one for athletes.

2. Speculaas

Thin, crunchy spiced cookies stamped with windmills and ships, flavored with speculaaskruiden — a warm blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and white pepper. Traditionally baked for Sinterklaas (December 5), now eaten year-round. Americans know the flavor from "Biscoff" — which is the Belgian cousin, speculoos.

3. Kruidnoten

Marble-sized speculaas nuggets that fill Dutch supermarkets from September onward. During Sinterklaas season they're thrown by the handful — literally — to children. Often confused with pepernoten (below), even by the Dutch.

4. Pepernoten

The chewy, anise-and-honey cousin of kruidnoten — lumpy little squares descended from medieval gingerbread. If it's round and crunchy, it's a kruidnoot; if it's soft and chewy, it's a pepernoot.

5. Jodenkoeken

Large, flat, buttery shortbread rounds sold in iconic tins. Simple, crumbly, and dangerously easy to eat three of.

6. Gevulde koek

A "filled cookie": two layers of buttery dough around a heart of almond paste, topped with a whole almond. A bakery staple with a fanbase that borders on religious.

7. Boterkoek

Butter cake — dense, rich, and cut into wedges. It sits somewhere between shortbread and cake, and it's a test of any Dutch home baker.

8. Kletskoppen

Lacy, glass-thin caramel cookies with almonds — the name translates roughly to "chatterboxes" (or "bald heads," depending who you ask). Originally from Leiden.

9. Stroopkoeken

The stroopwafel's soft-baked sibling: two shortbread-style cookies sandwiching syrup, no waffle iron involved. Chewier and cakier than a stroopwafel — a legitimate rivalry exists between fans of each.

10. Kniepertjes

Wafer-thin New Year's cookies from the eastern Netherlands, baked flat ("the old year rolled out") or rolled into cylinders ("the new year, still unknown"). They're baked on the same thin irons used for stroopwafels.

Dutch cookie FAQ

What is the most famous Dutch cookie?

The stroopwafel, by a wide margin — it's sold at every Dutch market, served on airlines, and beloved worldwide.

Did the word "cookie" really come from Dutch?

Yes. English borrowed it from the Dutch koekje ("little cake") via Dutch settlers in colonial New York.

What's the difference between speculaas and speculoos?

Speculaas is the Dutch original with a full spice blend; speculoos is the Belgian version with milder spicing — the flavor behind Biscoff.

Where can I buy fresh Dutch cookies in the US?

Most Dutch cookies in American stores are imported and weeks old by arrival. For stroopwafels specifically, we bake them fresh to order in Georgia — the only state-of-the-art stroopwafel bakery in the USA — and ship nationwide.

Taste the original

Reading about Dutch cookies is one thing. A warm stroopwafel on your morning coffee is another.

Shop fresh-baked stroopwafels →