Chef Joost
Amandelbroodje (Dutch Almond Pastry Roll)
The December bakery counter made small: cold leafed pastry wrapped around lemon-scented amandelspijs, brushed gold, and scattered with almonds so one person gets the whole holiday in both hands.
Culinary Explorer
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Gevulde Koek (Dutch Almond-Filled Cookie)
Created by
A soft round of Dutch shortcrust hiding amandelspijs, gevulde koek is the Sinterklaas counter's modest treasure: almond, butter, and patience under one glossy whole almond.
Pastries & Cookies
Dutch
Christmas
Holiday
Make Ahead
50 min
Active Time
20 min cook•1 hr 45 min total
Yield10 large gevulde koeken
In my grandmother's second notebook, the page for gevulde koek is marked with butter, not ink. December did that. The good pastries, banketletters, pastry letters, and banketstaven, pastry logs, announced themselves in the bakery window like guests with coats still wet from North Sea weather; the gevulde koek simply sat in the tin and waited for coffee. It knew its place. Dutch pastries often do.
The name already tells you the Dutch temperament at work: gevulde means filled, and koek is that broad Dutch word covering the ground English divides between cake, biscuit, and cookie. No poetry, just a promise. But let me tell you a secret: the filling is where the old feast hides. Amandelspijs, almond paste, is the same fragrant heart you find in banket, the Sinterklaas and Christmas pastry that let almonds, once a traded luxury, become part of an ordinary Dutch afternoon.
What matters here is proportion, not ornament. The pastry must be tender enough to yield at the edge and sturdy enough to hold the paste without leaking; the filling must be moist, never loose. Chill the dough, rest the spijs if time allows, press the rims closed with calm hands, and brush the top twice with egg so it bakes to that baker's-window shine. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple: one round, one filling, one almond on top.
Gevulde koek belongs to the same Dutch almond-paste family as banketstaaf and banketletter, pastries closely tied to Sinterklaas on 5 December and the Christmas season. Almonds were not a northern crop; their place in Dutch baking reflects long-distance trade, prosperous urban bakeries, and the habit of turning feast-day ingredients into everyday counter goods. The useful distinction at the table is this: banket is the festive log or letter, while gevulde koek is the hand-held round, still carrying amandelspijs, almond paste, under a plainer shortcrust lid.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
blanched almonds
Quantity
150g
caster sugar for amandelspijs
Quantity
150g
lemon zest for amandelspijs
Quantity
1/2 lemon
finely grated
fine salt for amandelspijs
Quantity
pinch
small egg for amandelspijs
Quantity
1
beaten
plain flour (all-purpose)
Quantity
300g
plus extra for dusting
witte basterdsuiker or fine caster sugar
Quantity
150g
baking powder
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine salt for dough
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
lemon zest for dough
Quantity
1/2 lemon
finely grated
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
200g
diced
egg yolk
Quantity
1
cold milk (optional)
Quantity
1 to 2 tablespoons
egg glaze
Quantity
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon milk
whole blanched almonds
Quantity
10
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| blanched almonds | 150g |
| caster sugar for amandelspijs | 150g |
| lemon zest for amandelspijsfinely grated | 1/2 lemon |
| fine salt for amandelspijs | pinch |
| small egg for amandelspijsbeaten | 1 |
| plain flour (all-purpose)plus extra for dusting | 300g |
| witte basterdsuiker or fine caster sugar | 150g |
| baking powder | 1 teaspoon |
| fine salt for dough | 1/2 teaspoon |
| lemon zest for doughfinely grated | 1/2 lemon |
| cold unsalted butterdiced | 200g |
| egg yolk | 1 |
| cold milk (optional) | 1 to 2 tablespoons |
| egg glaze | 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon milk |
| whole blanched almonds | 10 |
Equipment Needed
- •Food processor or nut grinder
- •8 to 9cm round cutter
- •Large baking sheet
- •Pastry brush
Instructions
- 1
Make the spijs
Pulse the blanched almonds and caster sugar in a food processor until fine and damp-looking, but stop before the nuts turn oily. Add the lemon zest, salt, and enough beaten egg to make a stiff paste that holds together when squeezed. Wrap it and rest it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The rest is not ceremony; the sugar draws moisture through the almond and the paste loses its sandy edge.
If you want to make the spijs more than a day ahead, mix the almonds, sugar, zest, and salt first, then add the egg on baking day. Raw egg deserves the same respect as old manuscripts: handle it cleanly and keep it cold. - 2
Mix the dough
Whisk the flour, basterdsuiker or caster sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest together in a wide bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse sand with a few small butter flecks left. Add the egg yolk and squeeze the dough together; use a spoonful of cold milk only if the crumbs refuse to gather. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
- 3
Cut the rounds
Heat the oven to 190C conventional, or 170C fan, and line a baking sheet with parchment. Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to about 4mm thick, then cut 20 rounds with an 8 to 9cm cutter. Keep the rounds cool as you work. Soft dough stretches, and stretched dough remembers it in the oven.
- 4
Fill and seal
Set 10 dough rounds on the lined baking sheet. Divide the amandelspijs into 10 portions, about 30g each, and shape each into a low mound in the centre of a round, leaving a clear rim of about 1cm. Brush the rim lightly with water or a little egg glaze, lay a second round on top, and press the edges closed with your fingertips. Do not flatten the centre; the gentle dome is part of the koek's charm.
If paste squeezes out at the edge, you were generous in the wrong place. Pull a little filling away and reseal; a leaking gevulde koek bakes into an argument with the tray. - 5
Glaze the tops
Brush each koek with the beaten egg and milk glaze. Press one whole blanched almond into the centre of each top, then brush lightly again. This second brush gives the shine you recognize from the bakery counter, and it also fixes the almond in place.
- 6
Bake and cool
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the tops are deep golden, the edges are set, and the underside lifts cleanly from the parchment. Let the koeken cool on the tray for 10 minutes before moving them to a rack. The filling is soft at first; cut one too soon and it will slump. Wait, and you get the clean pale almond line inside the brown crust.
Chef Tips
- •If you buy the filling, buy real amandelspijs, almond paste, and read the label. It should taste of almonds and lemon, not only of almond essence.
- •Blanched almonds give the clean pale filling a gevulde koek expects. Almond skins bring a darker speckled paste and a faint bitterness that belongs elsewhere.
- •Basterdsuiker, the soft Dutch sugar, makes a slightly tenderer pastry than ordinary caster sugar. Use caster sugar without apology if that is what your cupboard gives you.
- •These are better after a few hours, and often best the next day. The crust softens around the filling and the lemon settles into the almond.
- •Serve with black coffee or strong tea. Dessert wine has too much to say here, and the koek has already spoken.
Advance Preparation
- •The almond paste can be made up to 3 days ahead without the egg; add the egg on baking day and keep refrigerated.
- •The dough can be made 24 hours ahead and kept wrapped in the refrigerator. Let it stand for 10 minutes before rolling if it is too firm.
- •Assembled unbaked koeken can be frozen for up to 1 month. Bake from frozen, adding 3 to 4 minutes.
- •Baked gevulde koeken keep 4 to 5 days in an airtight tin at room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 100g)
Calories
490 calories
Total Fat
26 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
200 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
31 g
Protein
8 g
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