Important Update: If you’re having trouble getting your hands on the almond paste necessary to make banket, see this latest post on how to make your own!
If you were to ask any of my family, nuclear or extended, what is THE most important family heirloom recipe, I think almost everybody would answer that it’s Banket. (Pronounced bahn-KET.) In my house, it is not Christmas until we’ve made Banket. Banket is a traditional Dutch pastry (have Barb and I mentioned that we are 100% Dutch? Our grandparents came over from Holland!) that is made in long tubes of pastry, with an almond paste filling. Some people shape the tubes into letters–into “Merry Christmas”, for example. We just do long skinny “baguettes”. It is unbelievably delicious, and any time I have served it to non-Dutch people, they have just about died from the deliciousness. (Now THERE’s a news headline for you–”Woman dies after sampling exquisite pastry, autopsy shows pleasure overload.”) Anyway, this is a wonderful thing, and is totally worth the very involved and time-consuming preparation.
Banket:
Pastry:
•1 lb. butter (Update: I just had TWO batches of this fail because I used warm butter. It needs to be cold, and cut into smaller chunks, so that it breaks into sorty of grainy granules, rather then just creaming into the flour.)
•4 c. flour
•1 tsp. baking powder
•1 tsp. salt
•1 c. ice water
If using a Kitchenaid mixer, mix the butter, flour, baking powder, and salt first, then drizzle in the ice water a little at a time, JUST until the dough forms a ball. (It might be a little less or a little more than 1 c., and it MUST be ice water.) If mixing by hand, cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until all the butter is mixed in and the mixture is grainy. Then add the water a little at a time.
Roll the dough into a long oblong strip. Fold it in 1/3’s (fold the ends in 1/3 of the way) and let the dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes or more.
Roll out into a long strip again, and fold in 3 again. Let rest for another 20 minutes.
Roll out 3rd time in long strip, fold in 3, let rest in fridge. Make filling (see below.) In a small bowl, whisk 2-3 egg whites with 1/4 c. water.
Filling:
•1 lb. almond paste, crumbled (don’t use marzipan–it has to be almond paste.)
•2 c. granulated sugar
•2 eggs.
Mix completely, then let chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or more. Divide filling into 8 equal parts.
Cut dough into 8 equal parts. Take one part and roll into a long strip (around 15-18″ long and about 6″ wide.) Put 1/8 of the filling along the strip in the middle, making an even ridge of filling about 1/2″ wide. Leave 1/2″-1″ of dough free on the ends. Fold the ends of the dough over the filling. Fold one side up over the filling, then the other. Using a pastry brush, brush egg white/water mixture along the seams, and use fingers to seal. Place tube (it will be around 1-2″ in diameter) on a long cookie sheet, seam side down. Brush top with egg white/water mixture, and sprinkle with a little sugar.
Repeat procedure with each of the 8 dough/filling portions. (I usually bake 4 sticks on a cookie sheet, but if you shape the tubs into letters, you’ll need to do each one separately.) Pierce the tops every 3-4 inches with a knife.
Bake at 450ºF for 15-20 minutes, until the top of the pastry is golden brown. Don’t be alarmed if some of the almond paste spills out–it is a favorite sneaky-snack in our house to eat the spilled almond paste after the pans come out of the oven. Let the pastry cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. To serve, cut in 1″ slices and serve on a beautiful plate. (or alternately, if nobody is looking, eat half a stick as fast as you can, skipping the plate. 
)
LB
P.S. You may have to do some serious looking to find almond paste in the quantity you need. You can find little tubes of it in the grocery store baking aisle, but it’s ruinously expensive there. It’s best if you can find a predominantly Dutch community and buy the almond paste in #10 (7 pounds!) cans. I buy mine at a Dutch store in Jenison, Michigan, near Grand Rapids–I think the last can I bought cost about $30. It keeps practically forever if you wrap it tightly and store it in the freezer or coldest part of your fridge. I generally make at least 2 or 3 batches each year, and put all those sticks into the freezer. They make a great hostess gift or neighborhood gift, as well as a last-minute entertaining stand-by. Plus, I try to have at least 2 sticks left for Christmas Day, since it isn’t Christmas without banket. Try it–it’s so worth the effort!
P.P.S. Here’s a picture of my 3rd batch of the season–turned out prettier than the first 2:
105 Comments
December 5, 2006 at 3:31 am
I taught this recipe to my girls club at church and later I found one of them was turning out better banket than I was. Her secret was to roll the pastry loosely around the almond paste in the center leaving enough room for expansion of the inside roll. She had less problems with leakage than I did. Your Grandma used to make these every Christmas. Christmas smells at our house were wonderful.
Joan
December 21, 2006 at 5:02 pm
[...] I’ve written about how it’s not Christmas until we make the Banket, which is a traditional Dutch pastry. Well, for my friend Amy, it’s not Christmas until she’s made Sandbakkles (say it “SUN-buckles”)–a Swedish cookie-like thingy that you either eat plain (her preferred mode) or filled with cream or jam or some such thing. They are very buttery and yummy. And they require a special tin–it looks like a miniature muffin tin, only a lot shallower–you can get them online or at a Scandinavian shop. The last few years, Amy has come over and helped me with the banket, so this year we are planning to do both the banket and sandbakkles. This recipe comes from Amy’s mom: Sandbakkles <><><> From Joan C. [...]
December 21, 2006 at 7:06 pm
[...] Recent Comments Swedish Sandbakkles « My Sister’s Kitchen on A Dutch almond pastry called Banketmysisterskitchen on Holiday Chicken with Kalamata Olives and Apricotscooknkate on Holiday Chicken with Kalamata Olives and ApricotsMish on Citron breadLemon Sauce for that Gingerbread « My Sister’s Kitchen on Gingerbread–a classic seasonal treat [...]
January 21, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Hi,
There seems to be a little misunderstanding about the word ‘Banket’ here.
In Dutch, ‘Banket’ means ‘Pastry’ in general.
The pastry you are talking about (these almond paste filled bars) are actually called ‘Banketstaaf’ in Dutch, where Banket = Pastry and staaf = bar.
The stuffing in Dutch is called ‘Amandelspijs’, where Amandel = almond and spijs = an archaic word for ‘food’.
Jos van Liempd
January 22, 2007 at 1:04 am
Hi, Jos,
Thanks for stopping in and bringing us up to speed on the language of banket. I can’t promise to stop calling this treat that we eat, “banket” but I love learning new things about the foods that my grandmas both baked for us when I was a child.
warmly,
Barb
January 22, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Hi, Barb,
I was amazed to find someone actually home-making this. Never in my life (since 1954) have I ever seen a home-made Banketstaaf here in the Netherlands. Everybody buys it from the supermarket and i just tastes like cardboard. I think it’s reallly great that you make it yourself!
How I got to ’stop in’ here in mysisterskitchen is a funny coincidence. I was researching the word ‘Banket’ for a comedy piece I am writing on my weblog. It is about a little bakery-shop in the Netherlands, that is owned by a family called ‘Slager’ (which means butcher, so their shop is called ‘Bakery Butcher’, or ‘Bakkerij Slager’ in Dutch). They do have a website, and on their website the page labeled ‘Banket’ was inaccessible and clicking it returned a ‘Forbidden’ error message. Hoping that google might give me some nice suggestions, I queried for ‘Forbidden Banket’ and somhowe this got me to mysisterskitchen…
Kindest regards,
Jos
January 23, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Jos, We are laughing at the thought that you found us by googling “forbidden banket.” It makes it sound very exotic and mysterious.
I was talking recently with someone who grew up with a host of very important traditional Christmas foods in her Swedish family. She said that when she was living on a medical missions ship that operates around Africa, there were people who were from Sweden, who only vaguely remembered or knew of her so-called traditional Swedish foods.
We speculated that the European immigrants who came to the U.S. in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s brought certain “traditional” foods with them, and those traditions became ever more important to them here in the melting pot, while the foods faded to less prominence in their mother countries.
I am sad to hear that banketstaaf is no longer the delicacy in Holland that it is here. (Sad for you–I can’t imagine banket that tastes like cardboard! My own is superlative.
)
It makes me wonder what are the must-have traditional foods in the Netherlands now. If you have any great recipes, we’d be happy to have them.
Laura
January 24, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Hi Laura,
Banketstaaf is still reasonably popular over here; it just doesn’t taste as well as it used to and nobody seems to know how to bake it well, anymore
In my earlier message I forgot to mention that ‘Banketstaaf’ is/was usually eaten in the period of dec 5th (Sinterklaas, a Dutch pre-SantaClaus original holida) through Christmas.
In my childhood most mothers got a Banketstaaf as a gift with Sinterklaas or Christmas. These were/are in the shape of a Roman capital ‘M’, and decorated with red and green pieces of confit fruits. Also the version shaped as an ‘S’ was/is popular; I believe the S stands for ‘Sinterklaas’ (I don’t know if you know about Sinterklaas, but that’s a whole other story – you may wat to check http://www.thehollandring.com/sinterklaas.shtml – tis site also has some related recipes).
The most common name for what you call Banket is not Banketstaaf (only used for the bar-shaped version) but ‘Banketletter’ or ‘Een letter van banket’ (litterally: PastryCharacter resp. A Character made of Pastry).
P.S.: probably your Banket tastes so good that that’s why it came up under ‘Forbidden’
January 24, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Since I didn’t originally step in for a culinary reason, I forgot to mention that Banketstaaf is made with ‘Bladerdeeg’ which I believe in english is Fillo/Phyllo Pastry (or Millefeuilles in french).
I don’t know if you do this, but in case you don’t – you may want to try. It is not for the faint hearted, though…:-)
Here’s a good (eventhough it’s from the UK
link:
http://www.hub-uk.com/tallyrecip03/recipe0149.htm
cheers,
Jos
January 24, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Jos,
We make our banket with a homemade pastry dough that is very flaky—full of butter. I’ve worked with phyllo dough before and this is a different sort of dough.
My grandma used to shape her banket into letters and she called them Butter Letters (only she said it in Dutch, so it sounded a bit different than the English spelling.)
Thanks so much for these wonderful bits of information on our heritage!
Barb (by the way, you’ve been talking to two sisters: Barb and Laura)
January 25, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Barb & Laura,
I got that, that I was talking to two sisters
Your grandma probably pronounced it like ‘Boat-r-letters’, right?
In the meantime, I have started browsing yor site a bit more and I think you’re doing a nice job!
Bye for now & take care
Jos
January 25, 2007 at 6:37 pm
EXACTLY!!!!
March 19, 2007 at 3:02 am
I grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and my grandma DeJong made the most fabulous homemade banket during every Christmas holiday.Some years,each banket was shaped into the first initial of our names…that was the best.
I found this website because I was trying to find out the difference between marzipan and almond paste, following a little disagreement with someone today.
I live in Seattle now and any Dutch food is rather hard to find.Lynden Washington has a restaurant called Dutch Mothers, but that is 2 hours away, and alas…I no longer eat gluten. No more banket for me, but I have great memories and a special place in my heart for almond paste.
Thanks for giving me this time to remember my wonderful grandmother.And why do we Dutch love sugar so much ?
Fondly,
Sandy
March 31, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I need help with banket. When my Mom(Van Heel)made it, the filling was much firmer, not hard or anything & she did have some leakage on some rolls, but not squishy (filling) like mine are turning out. My pastry is fine, the recipe pretty much matches yours, but for the filling, we use 3 eggs, do you think that could be the problem? Plus I use extra large eggs, maybe my Mom used large? My mom has been gone nearly 10 years now and twice each year I make banket, but it is never as good as my Mom’s was. I use real almond paste from a Dutch store, not the canned variety. I have not done the folding & resting, & I’m not sure how that would affect the filling. My family say they love it, and the taste is good, it’s the texture that I can’t get! Help if you can!
Nancy in Indiana
April 1, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Hi Nancy,
I think the eggs might be part of the problem–try it with 2 instead of 3. I use extra large also, and 2 seems to be the ticket.
Also, when you say you use real almond paste and not canned, I’m not sure what that means. The stuff I use comes from a Dutch store, but has always come in a #10 can (although I understand they are starting to package it in a big plastic tub now.) It is possible that you are using a different kind of almond paste, and that would contribute to the different texture. You might just run this by one of the staff at your Dutch store (look for a lady in at least her 60’s for the most credible knowledge!
)Ask them if the kind of paste you buy might make the texture different than your mom’s.
Please let us know what you find out!
Laura
October 29, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I live in Lynden, WA and we bake banket every year for a fundraiser. We buy our almond paste in 50 pound boxes through a local representative of the American Almond Company. It is awesome paste! They also sell in smaller quantities, see their website. That makes 400 sticks, by the way, our recipe quite similar to yours, except we add a splash of real vanilla extract. We don’t bother rolling and resting, just let it sit as a ball for two hours (or overnight) in the fridge, and it does fabulous…put a little dusting of flour on the counter and on the roller (Pampered Chef makes a great little flour shaker), “pull” and squeeze the dough in your hands into a log until it is almost as long as you want it, and then roll it out the rest of the way on the counter. Someone asked about a thicker filling. Another traditional way to make the filling involves adding 4 crushed rusks (another Dutch delight) and using 3 large eggs instead of two in the filling. My mom is always trying different variations – she made this every year for our family, and we have to have it – it is the one Dutch tradition we hold onto, after over five generations! Also, the paste, unbaked and baked pastries freeze wonderfully – I have used paste 6 years old! The stix last up to a year or longer – make sure you repoke bf baking!
April 10, 2007 at 12:01 am
Hi…after reading how yummy this is, and adoring almonds, I plan to try this one of these days. But far as I know, we don’t have any Dutch specialty stores near here (and I did date a guy from Holland for several years so I am pretty sure I would have heard about it lol).
But even if we did, don’t think I would want that huge a can. I’m wondering if you are familiar with Solo Almond Cake & Pastry filling and if that would be ok to use?
And to Nancy…I swear that there is an ingredient in a Mom’s hands that make things taste differently. I have a few family specialties my Mom not only taught me but made sure to measure out and even though I am a very good cook (if I do say so myself lol), and I can get hers tasting really close and pretty darn good, there is just something missing all the time. It’s that special ingredient I tell ya….Sniff!
April 11, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Ellen, I’m not familiar with that filling, but it might be okay to use. Depending on how thick the filling is and how much it has already been sweetened, you might not want to add the eggs and sugar that we recommend for regular almond paste. The eggs and sugar will thin the paste out and if it’s too thin, you will end up with burned almond paste all over the bottom of your oven. You might want to experiment a bit with the Solo filling. Is it so dense that you have to cut it with a knife or the edge of a spoon? Then add some eggs and sugar. If it’s thin enough to spoon, then you should not add anything to it…just use it as it is.
And I’m totally agreeing with you on the magic “mom” ingredient. My goal is to pass that mom magic on to my sons!
Good luck,
barb
July 7, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and eating almond letters at Christmas is a great memory. I asked my Aunt Annie to show me how to make letters one time when I was back in Kalamazoo visiting. She used the almond past from Meijers that is wrapped like a pound of cheese. Her letters were wonderful. Whenever we can, we buy some almond paste and bring it back with us. Now I find almond letters at my daughter’s home at Christmas time! How great is that!
Now I have a question – can you please tell me the name of the fried dough goodie that sounds like “oliekooken, or oliebolen, or something like that??
I sure enjoyed looking through My Sister’s Kitchen.
Marcia in Augusta, Georgia
July 7, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Hi, Marcia, I’m glad you stopped by. I’ve written up some recipes for Olie Koeken. If you search for “Olie” you’ll come up with two of the recipes. Click on the first recipe. If you click on “next” at the bottom of each page, you’ll find the second and third recipes. I’m on a super slow connection right now and can’t post the links myself. When I get back home, I’ll try to edit this so that you can see the URLs here in the comment.
Barb
July 10, 2007 at 3:03 am
That’s it, Barb! Thank you! I had a friend that went to the Holland (Michigan) Tulip Festival this spring and I wanted to ask her if she saw any of this being prepared or served.
I was always under the impression there were two ways to spell/pronounce this. The two ways reflected the geographic location in the “old country” – I don’t know which was which but, one was “high Dutch” and the other was “low Dutch”. High Dutch being the folks that lived near the sea and were more sophisticated, being influenced by the traders and visitors that came into the ports.
My grandparents were from Groeningen – low Dutch for sure.
Thanks again. I’ll check back soon. Marcia
August 11, 2007 at 11:39 am
I just found your wonderful informative site by googling butter letters. My mother in law, who is polish used to make them from a recipe in an Imperial margarine ad! When she gave me the recipe over 30 years ago, I made them with butter.
Most of the recipes I have found have exactly the same proportions except they call for 4 cups of flour, 1 lb butter, 1 cup ice water. No baking powder.
My mother in laws recipe only called for 3 1/2 cups of flour. Hers were quite light even though she mixed the dough quite well, not like a pie pastry.
thanks,
September 7, 2007 at 8:12 pm
This sounds very close to my grandmother’s family recipe for Banquet (as she spelled it), which we always had at Christmas time when we visited her in Grand Rapids, MI. They sell it in the grocery stores there at X-mas time, but homemade is better.
She used to make and chill the dough, make the filling, then roll the dough into 12×8 rectangles, put filling along one long edge, and then roll it up like a jelly roll and tuck the ends under.
BTW, I have made it using Solo Almond Paste (NOT their almond filling) and that works fine. I bought the almond filling by mistake once, and that will not work (it’s a gooey pie type filling with hunks of almond in it, not a smooth thick paste). I prefer the almond paste that comes wrapped in plastic, but can’t always find it, whereas most grocery stores carry the solo brand.
My mother and I still make this every December, and give rolls or half rolls away as Xmas gifts.
September 8, 2007 at 10:12 pm
It does make great Christmas gifts, doesn’t it, Deborah? My non-Dutch friends all start dropping heavy hints around the first of November, hoping for some of the Dutch bounty.
Laura
September 25, 2007 at 6:32 pm
I love making Banket and now my daughter does as well. I buy it in the 7 lb. tubs from Gordon Food Service stores. It is great! It is so yummy and a wonderful tradition to pass on to our children. My mother never made it because she was near a Dutch bakery in Holland, MI.
Dottie
Il.
November 1, 2007 at 5:00 am
Hi – I am so glad to find this website! I never heard of Banket until I met my now-husband 22+ years ago. He’s from a Dutch family in Kalamazoo, Michigan and this was the ‘thing’ I had to learn to bake when we were first married. It isn’t that difficult!
I’ve taught others since. The other traditional dessert I had to learn to bake was a Snow Pie. Have you heard of that one? Its very similar to a souffle, and has almond flavoring. If you have heard of it, can you tell me anything about it? This recipe came from my hubby’s grandmother who is long since gone. No one really knows where it came from or anything else about it except that it is very tricky to get right. If the eggs are beaten too long or not long enough, the pie is either really puffy as it bakes then sinks to an inch high, or it just turns brown as it bakes. It’s supposed to stay white! Any information?
November 1, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Hi Tammie,
We’ve never heard of Snow Pie! Do tell us more! Is it supposed to be a Dutch family recipe? We’re always interested in more recipes that call for almond flavor!
Laura
November 3, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Well, we’re assuming its a Dutch recipe because dh’s family is all Dutch/German (maybe it’s a German recipe?) It seems that only the daughters’ in-law can get it right! (probably because we know how much the husbands love it)
I can give you the recipe if you’d like. It’s been handed down for at least 3 generations so far. It’s added to Olie Bollen and Banket as the sweets to eat starting around Thanksgiving. I throw in homemade fudge from my side!
Also, I wanted to give another idea for banket. I usually make it into a candy cane shape. I brush the dough with egg white/water and alternately sprinkle red and white sugar ’stripes’. The kids love it
November 13, 2007 at 8:04 am
I am the chef at Sheldom Meadows Living center in Hudsonville. I am looking forward to preparing this treat for our residents. Where did you say you found that almond paste in Jenison?
November 20, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Imagine my delight when searching for this recipe to find it published by someone else who both learned food was the language of love and enjoyed these delicious pastries in Kalamazoo, Michigan — my home town, although I’m now transplanted on the east coast. I had an aunt who baked these and I remember them tasting like heaven on earth. By the way, we called them ‘banket’ also, perhaps it’s a mid-west colloquilism of the name? Thanks for your great site! Take Care!
November 29, 2007 at 2:39 am
Barb,
thanks for posting this! My Grandmother made banket for us every christmas as well. The recipies are almost identical. I think it’s funny that the dutch in holland just buy it in the store, we also make stroopwaffels every year too.
Happy holidays to you!
Kelly
Dutch in Maryland
December 3, 2007 at 11:40 pm
I am anxious to try making this again. Somewhere in the last many years, I quit making this and want to try again. Will it turn out okay if I only make a half recipe?
December 4, 2007 at 3:00 am
Kelly, Trader Joes is a great source for stroepwaffels. I’ve never made them myself before. Would you share your recipe? I would LOVE to make them!
Kate, I don’t THINK it would be a problem, but you will need to pay close attention to the texture of the dough. I’m just thinking how you can’t exactly double a pie crust recipe. When you make 2 crusts, the proportions are just a little different. It might be that way with banket crust too. Banket freezes nicely, so you could make an entire batch and freeze half of it!
Barb
December 4, 2007 at 6:12 am
Hi Kate – I have done only half a batch before and it turned out just fine. My dough is the same one as written here and it seems fairly forgiving. The only thing I do differently is to let the dough rest in the fridge for a day or so before starting the rolling process. My mother-in-law told me it gave it more flavor.
Don’t know if that’s true or not!
Tammie
December 4, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Shawn, Sorry to be so late getting back to you. My inlaws got our almond paste at DeReuze in Grandville across from Rivertown Mall and next to D and W in a mall. I have also gotten it in the past a “VanderVeen’s Dutch Store” on 28th Street in Wyoming. I’m checking on a possible cheaper source. Have fun making banket!
Laura
December 5, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Thank you so much for this recipe! This is the second time I’ve tried making banket. The first time was using my great-grandmother’s recipe who wrote down ingredients, but not methods. The pastry turned out dense and tough. But this recipe turns out a fantastic result – even better than I remember her making. In fact, this is the best banket I’ve ever tasted. And trust me, I’ve had a lot of banket!
December 6, 2007 at 4:16 pm
My family also makes banket every year for St. Nicholas Day and Christmas. My great grandparents came from Groeningen and even though there were probably Dutch bakeries in the Chicago neighborhoods where my grandparents and parents were raised, and I know Arnie’s and others in Grand Rapids make banket, we have always made it ourselves. Another tradition is to make Jon Hagel cookies – my dad’s favorite. This is my maternal grandmother’s recipe:
1 c. sugar
1 c. butter
1 egg, separated
2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
ground nuts (she usually used walnuts, but I like almonds)
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yolk. Stir in flour and soda to form a sticky dough. Spread very thin into a well greased pan. Rub dough with beaten egg white and sprinkle with ground nuts. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Cut into squares while still warm – if you wait until cool, they will crack into pieces.
December 6, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Thank you for posting this great recipe! I grew up in Holland MI and have been making this with my grandmother (Dutch) since I was 10. She passed about 10 years ago, and I have been continuing to make this every holiday season (I’m 26 now and living in Chicago). I’m always happy to spread the joy of banket to every holiday party! I recently moved apartments and lost my recipe…which brought me to your site. The recipe seems to be quite the same, and I’m looking forward to baking this weekend!
There is an all Dutch cook-book out there that everyone in Holland MI seemed to have (and my grandmother was no exception)…this is where my banket recipe came from. I believe it was published in the late 80’s / early 90’s. I have been trying to get my hands on it for some time, though no-one in Holland seems to be willing to give theirs up, and I haven’t found it for purchase. All I can remember is that it had a blue and white cover. It may have simply been a conglomeration of Dutch recipes from locals in Holland, though I’m not sure. If any of you know what I’m talking about, and/or have information on how to obtain this, please let me know!
Thanks!
-Mike
September 20, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Mike, you probably already found a copy of this by now.
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=Eet+Smakelijk&x=60&y=13
December 6, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Mike! I have that same cookbook! It’s called Eet Smakelijk, and was put out by the Holland Junior Welfare League, PO Box 1633, Holland, MI 49422-1633. There have been several editions and many more printings, April 1964 being the first one. Mine was published in ‘76 but printed in ‘89, so there may be newer ones available. There is a notecard in the back to order more at the same PO Box. This book is almost 600 pages of recipes, a lot Dutch, some local celebrity favorites, plus others. My grandmother bought it for me at the Dutch Village Mall in Holland, it that helps. She also saw them at VanderVeen’s in Grand Rapids.
December 6, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Were is that Dutch store in Jenison? I live in hudsonville and am familiar with the area and am not sure what store this is. Could you please let me know. My mom no longer makes Banket – to much trouble for her. I miss this and around Christmas time and I know she had trouble in the past trying to find the almond paste. She usually brought it in a “brick” like a cheese brick. Any information would be wonderful. Thanks
December 6, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Lisa,
Look up VanderVeen’s (Wyoming) and DeReuze (Grandville). Another commenter also mentioned that he had gotten the almond paste at GFS Marketplace, and that price seemed to be the cheapest. If all else fails, you can google “almond paste”, and find several sources that will sell you the 7-pound can for a lot more, plus shipping. Plan on spending at least $35-40 in town.
Hope that’s helpful,
Laura
December 6, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Tammie! thanks for the info. I did a little research online with the title you used…it is available online (at Amazon.com), also Readers World in Holland, as well as Dutch Village and VanderVeens like you mentioned. I’m heading to Holland for the Holiday, and will be picking one up for sure! Have you found it to be a good/useful cookbook?
It’s more of a sense of nostalgia for me, though I’d love to try some new/old recipes! Thanks again!
December 8, 2007 at 7:52 am
Hi Mike (my d.h.’s name too!) It is a good cookbook -the banana bread is excellent, the lemon bars, several chicken dishes (so far!) There are many old recipes which I tend to go for just because they aren’t around much anymore. It’s a good one to have around
I’m glad you could find it still!
Tammie
December 10, 2007 at 9:14 pm
I got to this site trying to find a banket recipe. My grandmother always made this and when she wasn’t around there was a good Dutch bakery near our house. My grandmother would also make pie dough and make little pies (in a small muffin tin) filled with almond paste filling — wonderful!
Pat
December 11, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Hi Mike or anyone in the Chicago area,
I’m 25, living in Chicago and attempting Banket for the first time. I want to find authentic Almond Paste because my sisters say the canned stuff is too sweet. When I grew up in the Grand Rapids, MI area my mom (who has since past) always found Almond Paste in the grocery stores “wrapped like a pound of cheese”. Does anyone know anywhere in the Chicago area that would have it? I’ve tried a few places in Andersonville. Thanks!
~Meaghan
December 11, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Hi,
I’ve made this and love it. Everyone thinks you’ve slaved over it. My recipe uses crushed rusk and I get the almond paste at Gordon Foods in Grand Rapids. We buy it in the fall when we come for apples and take it back to Iowa with us.
Lois
December 11, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Hi again,
Meijers in Michigan carries almond paste wrapped like cheese in the cheese or meat dept.
Lois
December 11, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Hi Meaghan – I can only find it online. I like to order it from bluediamond.com in a 7 lb can. It is in the local stores, but it is outrageously priced for such a little bit. Here is the online address, if that helps: http://www.bluediamond.com/shop//nuts/paste.cfm I’ve also seen the wrapped version in several online stores. I’ve never tried it so I don’t know if there is any taste difference. You can also make your own paste with whole almonds in a food processor. There are several recipes out there for that too!
Good luck!
Tammie
December 12, 2007 at 8:25 pm
As a southside Chicago dutch guy, who went to College in Grand Rapids, Banket (BAHN-KET) and Almond Paste are pretty much staples of the holiday season.
Try Walt’s in South Holland, Tinley Park, Crete, etc for Almond Paste. Some of the dutch Churches down here sell it as a fund raiser….Elim Christian School and Trinity Christian College, both in Palos Heights, have dutch festivals where almond paste, ollebollen, and banket are readily available.
December 12, 2007 at 8:34 pm
VanderVeen’s in Grand Rapids Sells almond paste in the 7lb can or by the pound..
http://www.thedutchstore.com/supplies.html
It appears that online ordering isn’t available, but you can call, mail, or fax your order.
December 12, 2007 at 8:39 pm
My sister and I had been making banket together for several years from a recipe handed down from our mother (almost exactly like the one you gave) We grew up around Chicago and were able to get almond paste in the brick form just like mom did. Then we moved to Colorado and were able to get the Solo almond paste in 8 oz cans. Then one year it suddenly became unavailable anywhere. We went into a panic. Fortunately I was able to find Solo’s on the web and call my order in the last part of November. (Sokol & Company 5315 Dansher Rd. Countryside, IL 60525 800-328-7656)
so the tradition was saved. This year my sister moved to Arkansas closer to another sister so they will be carrying on the tradition there. I will be making it alone, but thinking of the fun we had eating the “blowouts.” We have such a call for banket that we would make 70-80 rolls at a time for family and friends. I enjoy seeing the variation with the colored sugars. We would add extracts to the fillings for flavor variation. Orange and lemon are two of our favorites. Last year for a lower carb version we make some with Splenda instead of sugar. The filling was a little creamier, that was the only way we could really tell the difference between the tradional and the lower carb variey. It was also greatly appreciated by my diabetic friends.
December 13, 2007 at 7:40 pm
I made Bankets for a reception for the new Director of Purdue Extesnion this week-(12-11-2007) everyone loved them
My Grandma taught me how to make bankets- I still use her recipe which calls for a pound of flour, pound of sugar, pound of almond paste, 3 eggs, almond extract, and a cup of cold water. The first time I asked her how many cups were in a pound of flour and sugar she asked don’t you have a scale?- I do now- its grandmas.
Grandma was born in Holland and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. My mom never learned how to make bankets- but my nieces are learning how. Tuesday was the first time I’d tried to do letter- worked quite well- grandma’s were better. She called them banket letters.
Not only are these Christmas treats but also my son’s birthday treat and we also have them at Easter time- and any other time I want to make them.I buy the patse in the plastic tubs-
Happy holidays,
Julie Butus
December 15, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I am so excited about finding your recipe. I grew up in Muskegon, Michigan and am of Dutch & Swedish origin. I used to buy my banket from a bakery called Ryke’s, but after they changed owners, it was no longer available. I’ve tried Arnie’s, but am eager to try making it myself from your recipe. Thanks. I have the tins for sandbakkellse, but have not tried those yet,either. Have a great holiday season. Judy C.
December 18, 2007 at 9:11 pm
I just wanted to know if you can freeze banket? Do I need to make it first. I still have some pastry and filling uncooked in the refrig. and I wanted to know if I should freeze it that way or make it first. When you remove it from the freezer, how do you reheat? Thanks! I made this for my daughter because she had Holland when doing Christmas around the World. I was so proud of myself because it turned out great!
December 19, 2007 at 2:15 am
Hi Carol,
Congratulations on a successful first batch!
You certainly can freeze banket–I have a LARGE pile of banket sticks sitting out on my (below freezing) back porch right now. I would recommend that you assemble the pastry and filling and bake it before freezing. Then all you need to do is let it sit out to thaw, and warm up with a minute or two in the microwave before serving.
Merry Christmas!
Laura
December 20, 2007 at 9:33 pm
[...] I was at my friend Amy’s house this week for our annual Banket Baking Day, and she brought out a copy of the All-Church Cookbook that was produced 10-15 years [...]
December 21, 2007 at 12:44 am
I just found your recipe for Banket (after i just made some)here is a question for you. Im also formerly from the G.R. area… can you tell me if your Banket is flakey like the banket you get at “Arnie”. I love there banket and the banket I made today is not flakey…. maybe I didnt do something right. Can you help me?
December 21, 2007 at 4:15 am
Hi Cathy,
I haven’t ever had banket from Arnie, so I don’t know about that, but my banket turns out flaky. There are a couple of key things that contribute to the flakiness: 1)using cold butter, not warm; 2)using only just enough ice water to make the dough stick together–too much will smooth it out and make it un-flaky; 3)not over mixing the dough–again, just mix it until it starts to form together, and then let the roll-outs do the rest; and 3)the 3 roll-outs, which create the layers of pastry.
Hope that’s helpful,
Laura
December 26, 2007 at 12:57 pm
for the ones amongst you who still speak dutch: for a recipe for almond paste: google “amandelspijs” to get the real dutch thing. This is what I put in my banketstaven.
January 6, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I make this every Christmas and give it to friends who I call “closet banket eaters’ as they hide it and will not share it with anyone. My daughters also make it. It is a family tradition. One question – one of my daughters lives in Albuquerque (high altitude) and has trouble with leakage. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
January 8, 2008 at 2:23 am
Hi Marion,
I assume it’s the BANKET that’s leaking, not your daughter.
I am not sure that this is due to altitude, but I suppose it’s possible. My suggestion would be to pay extra attention to the “seams”–be generous with the egg-white, and go back over the seams with your finger to make sure it’s “glued” shut.
Then, be sure to prick the top with a knife every few inches. My experience this year was that pricking it more, every inch or so, made it leak less. I guess it allows the steam to escape more readily or something.
But realize that there is going to be some overflow of the filling–this is just one of those banket things, it’s going to leak a bit. I say, let the baker enjoy the overflow as one of the perks of the job.
Laura
February 11, 2008 at 4:47 pm
As you can tell, I have a very common Dutch name. Both my parents came from the province of Friesland, The Netherlands.
Banket was made every year close to the holidays and was a favorite of the family. We didn’t call it Banket but the recipe is the same. My brother and I still make it every year along with almond cookies. Both are favorites of our children.
I was very pleased to see your comments about this on your web site.
Gordon DeVries
teatimefl@yahoo.com
March 4, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Hello, I too found this site by chance, when a customer came in asking if I made this pasrty? I never heard of Banket, so I asked her if it was BONKET as that is how she said it. BON-KET. Now I have been baking for 28+ years and never heard if it and felt stupid…hehehe, when she asked me, I gave her that HUH look and she said never mind… but I stopped her and asked more questions wrote BONKET down thinking that is how you spell it, and did a google..and your site came up, now I do feel stupid..hehehe…as I have been making an almond pastry just like the one mentioned above with a different twist added, (secret recipe) every Christmas for 30 years. I call mine Almond pastry wreath, as I shape three logs into a wreath. I sell this seasonally at my bakery. Now you must come in and try, I am a local GR bakery, just north of Grand Rapids, in Comstock Park Mi. Goodiesbakerycafe.com
How nice it is to have a name for my creation, finally!
Great site,
Tracy Webber
March 5, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Glad to have found this website when I googled dutch pastries. I was born in Amsterdam. My mother used to make the banket, calling it boeter letter. The real dutch pastries are heavenly. I would love to find a recipe for mocha gebakjes (tarts, pastries). I’m particularly interested in the way they do their mocha frosting, so thick, firm and smooth. Can anyone help me?
April 1, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Does anyone have a recipe for the mocha gebakjes
or cakes. I also would like a recipe for their mocha frosting. Can anyone help me.
April 27, 2008 at 2:30 pm
My parents emigrated to the U.S. in 1950. I grew up eating my mother’s homemade “Butter Letter.” Absolutely delicious – sweet yummy filling, buttery, flaky pastry. Unfortunately, she no longer has the strength to make it anymore. I can do it, but now she is also lactose intolerant. My sister is too and that is very unusual for natives of the Netherlands.
One day my mother mentioned that she had discovered that the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry shells had no dairy in them and she was using them for a dish that she still makes. Ah ha, I thought! How about the puff pastry sheets? I checked – no dairy! So, I bought them the Christmas before last and used them to make the Butter Letter. It came out great! Not the same as the buttery, homemade pastry, but pretty good. My sister came to visit and we made them again using the Pepperidge Farm pastry sheets. She loved it. We know it’s not the same, but it let’s us enjoy a traditional treat. I’m happy to say that my nephew is very interested in the family recipes and we made this at Thanksgiving when he came to visit.
So, if the idea of making the pastry is a daunting one for anyone out there, now you have an alternative. Just realize that it’s not the same as homemade, but it does taste delicious.
July 9, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Just found your website looking at recipes as I am teaching 3 people how to make banket tomorrow. I use 3 medium eggs – probably equivalet to your 2 extra large. The pastor of my church told me mine was better than his mother’s – but I’m sworn to secrecy – so he’s coming to learn how to make it tomorrow. I also buy the 7 pound can or the plastic tub in Grand Rapids or Jenison, Michigan but I live in Florida.
July 10, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I have found almond paste at a most reasonable price. Gordon Food Service has it for $27.49/ 7# can. I thought Peter’s Imports was good at $29 sale price but GFS has it year round at that price.
It is not in a can but in a box, presumably in plastic.
Joan
September 3, 2008 at 1:33 am
Wow, you buy almond paste in a can? You must go broke!
We always got it at our local grocers in Kalamazoo. Meijer’s can be depended on to carry it, as do other local stores in the area. It’ll only show up from Thanksgiving to Christmas, of course.
Since moving to the South, where there are no Dutch immigrants, I was missing my bankets, but by luck I discovered a recipe for making almond paste in a Chinese cookbook. This makes sense, considering the Dutch had a colony in China once. It’s probably where they picked up the use of almond paste and adapted it for their own use in baking. The recipe makes the exact same thing we’re all used to. All you need is a food processor.
If you cast around you can problem find a recipe to make your own almond paste.
October 4, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I also grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and my Mother was 100% Dutch. We never made Banket however, I have always loved it as have my Children. I was visiting my family last weekend and went to a craft fair in Zeeland, MI where they were selling home made Banket. My Daughter-in-law had never had it but she loved it. I told her that we needed to learn to make it so I am so happy to have found this website. Thank you for keeping the heritage recipes going!! Sheryll
October 24, 2008 at 5:46 am
My family (Dutch heritage – Grand Rapids, Michigan) is attempting to make banket using gluten-free flour. Your website has proved to be a valuable resource in our research. Thanks!
November 2, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Like several of you, I also grew up in Kalamazoo, MI and later lived in Holland/Zeeland, MI before moving to Washington, DC. (If anyone is familiar with Den Adel Court, a tiny street off Westnedge in Kzoo, I’m a Den Adel!) Thanks for the Banket recipe, Barb & Laura. We have tried for years to make it the way Grandpa remembers it (we never found Grandma’s recipe after she died) and never have satisfied him. I’m sure to try this one. Incidentally, I remember that blue & white cook book from sorting through Grandma’s things when she passed. That gave me an idea of where to look for her recipe! Yay!
November 9, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Hi!
I am going to attempt to make Banket but I wondered how much 1 1b of almond paste is? I don’t have a scale but bought a 7 lb can at Blue Diamond.
Thanks!
November 9, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Hi Beth,
I have always taken out the whole 7 pounds, cut it into halves, then each half into 3rds, and then take a bit away from each piece to make one more piece. Then I weigh each of the 7 pieces to make sure they are roughly equal. I’d say that each piece ends up being maybe 1 1/2-2 cups, but I haven’t ever measured it out that way–sorry I can’t be more specific.
Laura
November 15, 2008 at 10:21 am
Okay, so here’s how I found your site:
I am creating a cookbook for my grown sons to give them at Christmas. I wanted a photo of banket, as I couldn’t find mine–put away for safe keeping. THAT is how I found your site–Googled under images for banket, dutch pastry.
Now that I’m here, I’m amazed in reading from some that they never heard of what I call my favorite pastry!
I grew up in Lansing, IL and there has NEVER been a time when we didn’t have this pastry–which we never called pastry, either–just Banket. My mother usually made it near the holidays, and the smell that comes while it’s cooking, and the sweet almond taste after it’s cooled, with a good strong cup of coffee, or tea with sugar & milk–well, there are NO words–but here’s mine YUM and HEAVEN–but that constitutes two!
We just came from a trip to Germany for a wedding, and our flight back included the airport in Amsterdam–and guess what? no banket there either.
Back to where we live–currently in Temple, TX with no Dutchmen here either, and thus no almond paste.
I usually get my almond paste when I travel home to the Chicago Area, so I can have my ‘fix’.
Thanks for the information of where I can order and have shipped. And…I’m wishing we had a Meier’s store here.
If you have anywhere that someone knows near Austin/Temple, TX area, please let me know.
In the meantime, enjoy the holidays and thanks for your page. I’m including yours in my sons cookbook and I hope that’s okay.
Sincerely,
Cindy.
December 6, 2008 at 10:13 pm
When my Grandma Arnesen (nee Brandsen) moved into an assisted living facility, she couldn’t take many personal items, and definitely wouldn’t need her cookbooks. I went through her cupboard and took out the books that were the most spattered, torn and obviously well-used. I was thrilled to find her handwritten Banket recipe tucked into the pages of one of the books. Christmas was not Christmas without Grandma’s banket. She taught me how when I was a teenager, but I didn’t fully appreciate that lesson until I was grown and missing the Banket. After searching for almond paste, and one complete runny, leaking failure, (but still delicious!)I finally made a perfect batch last Christmas to share with my Southern neighbors here in North Carolina. They loved it, as do my children. So glad I found your site! Annette (grown in Michigan, living in NC)
December 8, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Annette, I’m living in NC too these days and haven’t found much that is Dutch at all! I’m so tickled that you found your grandma’s banket recipe–your story warms my heart. Later this month I will be teaching a couple of young ladies the fine art of banket-making. And the gift goes on!
Barb
December 7, 2008 at 10:19 pm
My family has been using the Pepridge farm puff pastry sheets for 3 generations. and the work great! they are trifolded and each sheet makes 3 nice sticks.
its not Christmas without it.
December 10, 2008 at 6:09 pm
[...] is, let me explain. Almond paste is the critical ingredient in a much-loved Dutch pastry called banket. Almond paste differs from marzipan in that almond paste has less sugar and tends to be stiffer in [...]
December 10, 2008 at 11:59 pm
[...] Tamara, who turns out to be Dutch like Barb and myself. When I mentioned something about making Banket, Tamara chimed in with appreciation and anticipation of her own banket-making enterprise. She [...]
December 11, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Hi,
I must say this site brings tears to my eyes. My uncle (Grootveld) was a Dutch baker. After WWII he openned his own bakery in Hawthorne, NJ. I can still remember sitting on a flour barrel watching him work. Butter Letter was one of his signature pieces. He would take 4-5 days to make the pastry letting it sit for 24 hour between rolling it out. As he told me years later….”roll it out fold it over, fold it over again then put it in the fridge…now do that for 5 days and you will have the start of the best “Butter Letter”.
December 11, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Dave, we’re so glad you stopped by. Your response of loving memory is EXACTLY why we started My Sister’s Kitchen: we wanted to preserve the recipes that, for our family, spell love and history and family. And this recipe for banket is, in my opinion, THE most important recipe in our Dutch heritage.
Merry Christmas!
Laura (and Barb)
December 12, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I’ve been making Bancutt for years now and I have taught my daughters to make and it is always a holiday favorite. My son said the other day why do we wait for the holiday. I used the same recipe except I did not use baking powder. I have a dutch recipe book that calls for 1/2 cup of corn starch. I like it better without the corn starch. It doesn’t do anything for my bancutt. I use 3 eggs in my recipe and I am going to try 2 eggs to make it firmer. Thanks for this site. I enjoyed reading it.
December 13, 2008 at 5:21 pm
My maternal grandfather (Kuiper) was born in Heerenveen and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s.
Some batches have are fabulous – buttery,
He settled in a small town outside Utica, NY and worked in a bakery owned by his cousins. (Wind’s
Bakery) Some of my fondest memories growing up are of watching him make the “letters” as we
called them and the speculaas cookies. Unfortunately, he passed away before teaching
anyone his secrets. Two years ago my mother gave me his pastry board and handwritten
recipes! I have been trying to duplicate the wonderful tastes of my childhood Christmas treats
ever since. I have not been consistent with my dough
flakey, just like grandpa made. My last two batches have been dense and less than acceptable.
I noticed your recipe called for cold butter. I have been letting my butter get warm. I will try
my next batch with cold butter. I also use the canned almond paste from Michigan.
Thanks for your comments,
Sarah
December 13, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Sarah, What are speculaas cookies, and can you share the recipe with us? We are always delighted to find more recipes from our Dutch heritage.
Laura
December 15, 2008 at 11:32 am
I do not know if it was mentioned here yet, but for years I have purchased my 7 lb. tub of ALMOND PASTE from GFS (Gordens Food Service) This years (2008) going price is $34.99. Not too bad, that’s only $5.00 a pound. I realise for some of you ladies, 7 lbs. is a large amount, but if your community is anything like my Dutch town of DeMotte, Indiana, there has to be more of us dutchmen out there to share the amount or cost with. Lets face it, we’re a resourcefull people, find your Banket bakers and split the paste. I myself use two full tubs of Paste a Christmas season. Yep, 14 lbs.! I love to give them away as gifts. Our local grocery store (TYSENS) is charging $10.50 lb. What a rip! Find a GFS near you!
December 15, 2008 at 5:28 pm
help sticky dough!
I made banket several years ago and after several tries the loaves finally turned out the way I have seen banket look (I used my sisters in-laws recipe, hers calls for 1lb of butter ). This year, may dough seems very sticky ( I used 3/4 lb of butter). Would anyone know why? Is there anthing I can do to salvage the dough or am I better of starting over.
Any comments would be appreciated.
December 15, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Hi Lucy,
I am almost certain your sticky dough is related to the temperature of your butter. It needs to be cold butter, cut into pieces and then cut into the flour. I wouldn’t just scrap the batch–I’d try rolling it out with a liberally floured surface, with liberal flour on top, too. If it was really sticky, I might even mix in another half cup or so of flour. This will make the pastry a bit tougher, but it shouldn’t ruin it, and I myself hate to throw out that much butter.
Laura
December 15, 2008 at 11:43 pm
[...] Banket [...]
December 18, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Laura,
Thank you for your advice and I will try it.
December 21, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Hi! I just googled “banket” and your site came up…I live in Zeeland so I was happy to see a local baker
I am trying to figure out if I can freeze banket because we simply can’t eat all of the goodies we have received? I would love to know!
Thanks!
December 21, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Absolutely! You can freeze banket. My mom used to squirrel away a couple whole batches of banket every year, and bring it out one stick at a time, to be doled out in chintzy little 1-inch slices. (Apologies to Mom, but that’s just not enough!) It will keep for several months in the freezer, although in my house it’s extremely unlikely that it would actually be left alone that long.
December 24, 2008 at 2:59 pm
[...] cool-rise cinnamon rolls, and making a Cream Cheese Peach Braid. Of course, there will also be Banket and Fudge for munching as the day progresses. If we are not totally food-ed out by dinner time, [...]
January 4, 2009 at 3:13 pm
This story echoes our family holidays always meant banket – this came from the DeVries side (I see the name in a comment above)
Every year there were debates about the best techniques, who’s was best etc.
A favorite of everybody in our family, it is fun to hear a similar account.
January 4, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Ed, I bet if we started comparing family trees we’d find some nuts…er…relations in common. Our grandmother was a DeVries. (Dutch Bingo, anyone?)
January 26, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Thanks for your wonderful banket recipe and tremendous comments that followed. I am of Dutch ancestry and not a stranger to banket. My parents resided in Chicago (Roseland) when I was born and I can remember visiting my grandmothers house (in the mid 1950’s) during the Christmas holidays. Grandma, and her brother Oscar, would be busy making and packaging banket. They would wrap the finished sticks in newspaper and give them to other family members and friends as gifts during the holdiay season. Banket making is fairly competitive in our family and I’m doing rather well thanks to your fine recipe and good tips. In fact, I think I’ve taken the lead.
Have you ever made your own paste??
I’m interrested in giving a try at making my own almond paste as described elsewhere in a link from this site. It doesn’t seem too difficult, but my question is this. After I follow the almond paste recipe – is the finished product ready as it is to be rolled into the pastry, or is it then necessary to follow the banket recipe and add sugar and egg to what I’ve just finished making? I think there is some almond pasted marketed out there that would be pretty much ready to be rolled into pastry, howevver, I’ve only made banket thus far with the solid almond paste as sold in stores such as Meijers and requires adding sugar and egg. Your advice and comments would be greatly appreciated
January 27, 2009 at 1:41 am
Bill, you need to treat homemade almond paste exactly as you would the canned stuff–that is, you’ll need to add egg and sugar, even though you’ve already put sugar into the almond paste.
I’ll let Barb comment on the difficulty or ease of making the almond paste from scratch. My impression is, it’s moderately time-consuming. But the cost factor is dramatically lower when you make your own–I think Barb figured that it would cut the cost by 40% at least. And that’s not insubstantial savings, given that a can of paste is currently running in the high $30’s.
We are so glad to have assisted you in connecting more strongly with your family heritage. (And in pulling ahead in the family who’s-banket-is-best competition. Of course in our family, nobody’s competing.
(My-husband-says-mine-is-best.)
Ciao,
Laura
January 28, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Thanks for the Banket receipe! I can hardly wait to make these. Here’s a stroopwaffelen recipe. You’ll need to dust off the old pizelle iron for these!
Stroopwaffels
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons dark corn syrup
DIRECTIONS
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Cut 1 cup of the butter into the flour. Mix in the sugar, eggs and yeast mixture. Mix well and set aside to rise for 30 to 60 minutes.
3. Roll dough into balls and bake in a pizelle iron.
4. To Make Filling: In a saucepan boil the brown sugar, 1 cup of the butter, cinnamon and dark corn syrup until it reaches the soft ball stage (234-240 degrees F 112 -115 degrees C).
5. Split waffles in half and spread cut sides with the warm filling. Then put the halves back together.
February 20, 2009 at 8:00 pm
My Grandma makes banket every Christmas as gifts. She makes the most buttery and flaky pastry that I have every had. The whole family can hardly wait each year to get this tasty treat. Banket is to die for!
April 19, 2009 at 5:19 am
I enjoyed reading all the posts. Just wanted to let you know that many of the Dutch traditional home baked delicacies are still being done here in South Africa. My in-laws emigrated to South Africa from Holland in the 1960’s. I was taught how to make a banketstaaf as well as gevulde spekulaas, by my mother-in-law. I am looking for a recipe for bitterkoek (not botterkoek), premixed bitterkoek ingredients are available in Holland but not here in SA. Should anyone be able to help it would be most appreciated
June 4, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Hello,
The receipe I’m looking for is for Boeter Koek—the round flat Butter Cake….I use to have the recipe and actually knew it by heart and made it all the time even after my parents moved back to Groningen…..I know it consists of butter, sugar, flour and almond extract but I’m sure I’m missing something…and I need the measurements for each…..can you help???
October 21, 2009 at 12:52 pm
My father, who had a bakery in The Netherlands before immigrating to the US in the 1950’s, would roll out the dough and put pieces of cold butter on the surface before folding and rolling again. I believe this was to make them more flaky. Would this be redundant in your recipe?
October 22, 2009 at 2:32 am
Dear Laura and Barb,
I grew up enjoying banket every Christmas. It has been 37 years since I have had any banket but I can still taste it. Both of my grandparents (DeVries) migrated from Holland (Friesland) to Grand Rapids MI. All of the brothers of my grandfather were bakers so even after my grandparents moved from Michigan to California every year around the holidays the large box would come from Michigan full of banket wrapped in newspaper. Once my grandparents and my own parents passed the banket stopped comming. The thought of banket popped into my head today for some strange reason and I just had to google it. Thank you so much for your wonderful site. I am going to carry on the holiday tradition of making Banket and sharing it with the family who all still remember it as I do. My two teenage boys are also looking forward to learn how to make it along side of me for the first time this holiday season.
October 24, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Terri, We’re so glad to help you revive the family tradition!
Laura and Barb