Traditionally served for breakfast, Groninger koek is a popular Dutch rye gingerbread. This sweet bread can best be described as a cross between a loaf of dark bread and a cake. It consists of rye flour, wheat flour, sugar, salt, and spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice, making it as aromatic as possible.

Groninger koek is typically baked in a rectangular shape, and it is recommended to go fully Dutch and serve it sliced for breakfast, with butter on the side.

The sweet bread known as Hoornse broeder is a specialty of Hoorn, located in West Friesland, North Holland. This sweet bread is quite dense and heavy, and it is made with flour, milk, yeast, and eggs. The dough is additionally enriched with plenty of currants and raisins that further enhance the flavors.

When baked, broeder will have an interior filled with melted brown sugar, and some cooks like to add slices of bacon to that same syrupy center. In the past, broeder used to be baked over low heat on a petroleum stove in a heavy pan, and it would get flipped halfway through the baking, but today it can be baked on a regular stove or in the oven.

Heavy, dense, and thick, poffert is a Groningen specialty cake consisting of flour, eggs, milk, and butter. It is typically stuffed with raisins, apricots, figs, and preserved ginger. The cake is meant to be consumed as a meal in itself, not as a dessert, and especially not as a coffee cake.

Although there is no sugar in the batter, when sliced, the cake is sometimes served with sweet syrup or butter. It is said that poffert tastes even better when consumed the next day.

Kerststol is a special Dutch bread that is prepared and consumed during the Christmas festivities. It is typically stuffed with raisins and candied fruits, then sprinkled with powdered sugar on top. Traditionally, it contains a layer of creamy almond paste on the inside.

During the festivities, the bread is sliced, buttered, and served for breakfast or brunch. If the same bread is prepared at Easter, it is then called paasstol.

Krentenbollen are slightly sweet Dutch bread rolls filled with currants and raisins. These buns are regularly consumed for brunch or as a late-night snack. They can be paired with sweet or savory toppings such as butter, sliced ham, fruit jams, or cheese.

It is recommended to consume krentenbollen with a steaming cup of coffee on the side.

Ontbijtkoek is one of the staples of a traditional Dutch breakfast: a rye cake spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, honey, pepper, and cloves. Although it is mostly consumed for breakfast, it is equally popular as a lunchtime treat or a midnight snack, topped with butter or jam, and sometimes with a few pieces of cheese on the side.

When it is consumed as a snack, it is often paired with a cup of tea or coffee. Ontbijtkoek has been baked in the Netherlands since the 16th century, and today there are numerous regional varieties of this flavorful sweet bread. In the southern parts of the country, it is known as peperkoek, referring to the fact that pepper is one of the ingredients used in its production.