Pella, Iowa Bakes Its Dutch Letters in an S for Sinterklaas. Here’s Where to Buy Them and How to Keep Them Fresh

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Pella Dutch letters are flaky strips of puff pastry wrapped around almond paste, glazed with egg and sugar, and baked into an S. In the Netherlands, bakers shape a letter pastry for Sinterklaas, the Dutch Saint Nicholas, whose feast falls on December 5 and 6. Pella’s bakeries make the S shape year-round, and demand spikes around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Here’s the short answer. The two classic places to buy them are Jaarsma Bakery, at 727 Franklin Street, and Vander Ploeg Bakery, at 711 Franklin Street, both a short walk from Pella’s central square. Go early, especially in the weeks before the holidays, when they can sell out. To keep them fresh, wrap them tightly and leave them at room temperature for up to a few days, or freeze them whole as soon as you get home and reheat them in a low oven to bring back the crunch. Don’t refrigerate them.

Pella is in south-central Iowa, about 40 miles southeast of Des Moines. Dutch immigrants led by Dominie Hendrik Scholte founded it in 1847, and the town still celebrates that heritage with windmills, canals, a historical village, and Tulip Time every May.

Where to Buy Pella Dutch Letters

Several places in Pella sell Dutch letters, but two bakeries on Franklin Street have the longest history. Their pastries differ a bit, and plenty of locals will tell you which one they think is better.

Jaarsma Bakery

Harmon Jaarsma founded Jaarsma Bakery in 1898, and the bakery has been on Franklin Street for generations. Its Dutch letters have a crisp, flaky crust and a generous almond filling with a strong, sweet almond flavor. Jaarsma opens early, at 6 a.m. on weekdays, and is closed on Sundays, which is common in Pella, a town with deep church roots.

Besides letters, Jaarsma sells other Dutch baked goods: almond-filled banket logs, speculaas spice cookies, and saucijzenbroodjes, small pastry-wrapped sausage rolls that are a good savory break from all the sugar.

Vander Ploeg Bakery

Vander Ploeg Bakery, a few doors down at 711 Franklin Street, makes its puff pastry from scratch. Its letters have a slightly different texture and balance of filling to pastry, which is why many visitors buy one from each bakery and compare them. Vander Ploeg also bakes breads, cookies, and other Dutch treats.

Other places to find them

You’ll find Dutch letters at grocery stores and other businesses in Pella, and you can find them around Iowa and the Midwest. Orange City, in northwest Iowa, is another Dutch-founded town that bakes its own. For the real experience, though, buy them fresh on Franklin Street.

When to Buy Pella Dutch Letters for the Holidays

Demand rises sharply during two periods: Tulip Time in May and the weeks from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Many families give Dutch letters as gifts or serve them at holiday breakfasts.

Go early in the day

The best selection comes in the morning. By the afternoon, especially on Saturdays in December, popular items can run out.

Order ahead

For a large order, such as a dozen letters for a family gathering, call the bakery a few days ahead. In the weeks before Christmas, the bakeries take a lot of preorders, so ordering early helps.

Remember Sundays

Many Pella businesses, including Jaarsma, are closed on Sundays. If you’re visiting over a holiday weekend, plan to buy on Saturday.

Shipping

Both bakeries have shipped their pastries to customers outside Iowa. Check each bakery’s website or call for current shipping options, cutoff dates for holiday delivery, and prices, since shipping a fragile pastry by express mail costs extra.

How to Keep Dutch Letters Fresh

A Dutch letter is best the day it’s baked. The pastry is crisp, the glaze crackles, and the almond paste is soft. After that, moisture from the filling slowly softens the crust. Here’s how to slow that down.

At room temperature

If you plan to eat the letters within two or three days, keep them at room temperature. Wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap, or put it in an airtight bag or container. Keep them away from heat and sunlight.

Don’t refrigerate

The refrigerator dries out the pastry and makes the almond paste firm, so letters come out of the fridge both stale and hard. Skip it.

Freeze for longer storage

To keep Dutch letters for more than a few days, freeze them. They freeze well, which is why many families stock up in Pella and bring home a box for the holidays.

• Freeze them as soon as possible after buying, preferably the same day.
• Wrap each letter tightly in plastic wrap, then put the wrapped letters in a freezer bag and press out the air.
• Label the bag with the date. Frozen letters keep well for a couple of months.

Reheat to re-crisp

Thaw a frozen letter at room temperature, still wrapped, for about an hour. Then unwrap it and warm it in a 300-to-350-degree oven for five to 10 minutes, until the pastry is crisp again. Watch it closely so the sugar on top doesn’t burn. A toaster oven works well. A microwave will make the pastry soggy.

Transporting them home

If you’re driving home, keep the box flat and away from the car’s heater. On a plane, carry them on in a sturdy box. They’re solid food, so they don’t have to meet the TSA liquids rule, but almond paste is dense, and a screener may want to take a closer look at the box.

How Dutch Letters Got to Iowa

In the Netherlands, a banketletter is made in the shape of a letter of the alphabet, often a child’s first initial. These pastries, and chocolate letters, are traditional gifts for Sinterklaas, celebrated on the evening of December 5 with gifts from the saint. When Dutch immigrants came to Iowa, they brought this tradition with them.

Over time, Pella’s bakers settled on the S, which locals tie to Sinterklaas. Today, a Dutch letter in Iowa is almost always an S.

Other Things to See in Pella in Late Fall

Pella is worth more than a bakery stop. While you’re in town, you can:

• See the Vermeer Windmill, an 18th-century-style working windmill built in the Netherlands and reassembled in Pella. It’s one of the tallest working windmills in the United States and still grinds grain.
• Walk through the Pella Historical Village, a group of historic buildings that includes Wyatt Earp’s boyhood home. The future lawman lived in Pella as a child.
• Walk around the square, with its Dutch-style storefronts, canal, and holiday decorations in late November and December.
• Visit the Scholte House Museum, the home of the town’s founder.

Hours for the windmill and historical village get shorter in the off-season, so check before you go.

How to Tell a Good Dutch Letter

Since you’re likely to taste more than one, here’s what to look for:

• A crisp, flaky crust that shatters a little when you bite it. Soggy pastry means the letter is old or was stored badly.
• A filling with a clear almond flavor that isn’t too sweet or pasty. Real almond paste is made from ground almonds, sugar, and egg.
• A shiny glaze with coarse sugar on top that crackles.
• An even bake, golden brown and not burned at the edges.

Some bakeries also make Dutch letters in other flavors, or mini versions. They’re fun to try, but for the classic, order the full-size almond S.

Serving Dutch Letters at the Holidays

Dutch letters fit naturally into holiday meals.

Christmas or Thanksgiving breakfast

Warm a few letters in the oven and serve them with coffee. Cut each letter into pieces so everyone can try one. A single letter usually serves two to four people as part of a larger breakfast.

Dessert

Serve warm pieces with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. The almond flavor goes well with fruit, especially cherries or berries.

Gifts

A box of Dutch letters makes a good gift for neighbors, teachers, or hosts. Buy them the day before you give them, or freeze them right after buying and give them frozen with reheating instructions.

Sinterklaas Day

If you want to observe the Dutch tradition, serve letters on the evening of December 5 or the morning of December 6, when Sinterklaas brings treats in the Netherlands. Some families in Pella and other Dutch-American towns still put out shoes the night before for small gifts.

A Few Other Dutch Treats to Try in Pella

Dutch letters are the star, but the Franklin Street bakeries sell plenty of other Dutch treats worth taking home:

• Banket: a log of puff pastry filled with almond paste, similar in flavor to a letter but in a straight shape that’s easy to slice.
• Speculaas: thin, spiced cookies flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, often pressed into decorative molds.
• Saucijzenbroodjes: pigs-in-a-blanket-style sausage rolls, a good savory snack.
• Oliebollen: deep-fried dough balls traditionally eaten in the Netherlands on New Year’s Eve, sometimes available seasonally.

Ask the staff what’s fresh that day, and check whether anything special is being baked for the holidays.

The Bottom Line on Pella Dutch Letters

Dutch letters are a small Iowa tradition with roots in a Dutch saint’s feast day. Go to Franklin Street early in the day, buy from both bakeries, and skip Sundays. Eat what you can that day, freeze the rest, and reheat them in the oven when you’re ready. A Dutch letter warmed on Christmas morning tastes much like one bought fresh in Pella.