These crisp, sweet and buttery waffles are eaten on New Year’s Day, plain or filled with whipped cream.
Baking kniepertjes and rolls is a century old tradition in some parts of the Netherlands. This is a real team effort, the whole family comes together to make lots and lots of waffles (the abundance is important!) from a bucket of batter and a mount of dough balls with the help of a waffle iron, and rolling them up around the handles of wooden spoons or leaving them flat.
There are two versions of this cookie, a flat one and a rolled up one. The flat one is made with a dough and symbolizes the old year, which is already unfolded (called “kniepertje” in Dutch). The rolled up one is made with a batter and symbolizes the new year, which still holds its secrets. The recipe below is for the rolled up variety. 
In the past, people used a waffle iron that was placed in the fire on the stovetop, but nowadays an electric waffle iron is mostly used (sometimes called ice-cone maker or oublie maker).
Some people like their kniepertjes and New Year’s rolls plain, just like they were eaten in the past. But most people eat them with lots of whipped cream. It is advised to give people a plate or a napkin or something like that when you serve the cream-filled rolls, because they tend to explode when you bite into them, leaving whipped cream and bits of cookie all over your shirt… If there are people out there that know how to eat a cream-filled New Year’s roll elegantly, please tell me how!
Step by Step Guide to Making Nieuwjaarsrolletjes – Dutch New Year’s Rolls
Preparing the Batter:
- In a pan, combine butter, sugar, and water. Heat until the butter melts and sugar dissolves.
- In a large bowl, add flour. Pour in the hot butter mixture, add lemon zest or vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
- Beat in the eggs until the batter is smooth.
- Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
Cooking the Waffles:
- Preheat the waffle iron and brush lightly with oil.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter onto the iron and close it. Cook until pale golden; the time depends on the iron.
- Immediately roll the cooked waffle into a cylinder shape, or leave flat if preferred.
- Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serving:
- Let the waffles or rolls cool completely before storing them in an airtight container. They can be stored for about 2 weeks.
- Before serving, fill them with sweetened whipped cream.
Dutch New Year’s Rolls – Nieuwjaarsrolletjes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 28-40 1x
Description
These crisp, sweet and buttery waffles are eaten on New Year’s Day in the Netherlands, plain or filled with whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 2/3 stick (75g) Butter
- 1/2 cup (125g) Sugar
- 2/3 cup (150ml) Water
- 2 cups (250g) Flour
- Grated peel of 1/2 Lemon or 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 Eggs
- Neutral Oil (for waffle iron)
- Sweetened Whipped Cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preparing the Batter:
- In a pan, combine butter, sugar, and water. Heat until the butter melts and sugar dissolves.
- In a large bowl, add flour. Pour in the hot butter mixture, add lemon zest or vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
- Beat in the eggs until the batter is smooth.
- Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
- Cooking the Waffles:
- Preheat the waffle iron and brush lightly with oil.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter onto the iron and close it. Cook until pale golden; the time depends on the iron.
- Immediately roll the cooked waffle into a cylinder shape, or leave flat if preferred.
- Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serving:
- Let the waffles or rolls cool completely before storing them in an airtight container. They can be stored for about 2 weeks.
- Before serving, fill them with sweetened whipped cream.
Notes
- Ensure the sugar is completely dissolved before adding to the flour.
- The batter should be smooth and free of lumps.
- Roll the waffles immediately after cooking to get the desired shape.
- If rolls are too crisp, slightly undercook the waffles.
- Serve immediately after filling with whipped cream to avoid sogginess.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dutch
What was the tradition behind them. I thought that my mom said you wanted to be the first to greet your neighbor with a tin of NY cookies. That doesn’t seem to make sense. any idea?
I still make the flat ones for my family every Christmas with the long handled iron on coals in my wood stove. I use on a old iron my mother brought from Holland about 90 years ago. Definitely a labor of love but such a treat for them. I would love to have an electric one which makes the very thin wafers I make in the fire. A waffle ice cream cone maker doesn’t work….makes them too thick.
In the Netherlands they are quite easy to find, especially in November/December; I bought mine in an appliance store. But I’m not sure where to find them abroad, it might be best to google around for a bit (I googled quickly and found some at amazon). They come under lots of different names, for example waffle cone iron/maker, ice cream cone maker/iron, krumkake maker/iron, oublie iron/maker, waffle maker…
In Dutch they are called oublie/wafel/kniepertjes/ijshoorntjes ijzer/maker (for Dutch/Dutch-speaking people that don’t know what to look for).
Where can I get the flat iron to make these new year cookies? when I was a kid we had a flat iron thing that looked like a big pliers, that we stuck in the wood furnace. But, I would like to get the electric one. Also what is it called?