The Dutch letter (also referred to as banket letter, almond letter, butter letter, and in Dutch as banketstaaf, banketletter, boterletter, and letterbanket) is a type of pastry that is typically prepared using a mixture of flour, eggs and butter or puff pastry as its base and filled with almond paste (or persipan), dusted with sugar and shaped in an "S" or other letter shape. Marzipan, an almond paste prepared with almond meal and honey or sugar, is sometimes used as the filling. The Dutch letter has a porous or airy and flaky texture.
The pastry was originally shaped "into the initial of the family's surname." Nowadays, the most common shape of the food in the United States is as the letter "S". Dutch letters are served as a treat during December, and particularly on Sinterklaasavond on December 5 in the Netherlands, and during some festivals in the United States.
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