The almond smell gets you before the doorway does. Butter, cinnamon, and warm pastry drift onto the sidewalk, and suddenly the line outside starts making perfect sense.
Inside, Dutch letters, banket, puff pillows, creme horns, windmill cookies, fresh breads, and homemade egg noodles fill the cases and shelves with very little concern for your original budget. The gift shop adds wooden shoes, imported candy, and just enough Dutch charm to make the wait feel like part of the visit.
This is the sort of Iowa bakery where one pastry becomes a box before anyone can pretend to be sensible. Around here, old family recipes, almond paste, and a little patience still know exactly how to pull people back for generations.
A Franklin Street Landmark With Dutch Roots
Pella does not hide its heritage. The downtown is full of stepped gables, tulip beds, and windmill motifs, and right in the middle of it all sits the bakery that locals treat as a landmark.
I found the storefront easily because a small crowd was already gathered outside at mid-morning. The storefront feels genuinely old-fashioned, with display windows stacked full of breads, cookies, and pastries in neat rows.
What surprised me was how long this operation has been running. The bakery’s official history points to 1898 as the starting year, which means the same family recipes have moved through generation after generation of bakers.
Inside, half the space works as a gift shop packed with imported treats and Dutch souvenirs, and the other half is all glass cases and busy hands behind the counter. Staff members sometimes wear traditional outfits, which fits the town perfectly.
The bakery keeps a walkable spot in the heart of the business district, so street parking nearby is usually enough.
You will find it at Jaarsma Bakery, 727 Franklin St, Pella, IA 50219, and honestly, the aroma alone will guide you the last block.
Dutch Letters Are The Reason People Drive Hours
Let me be direct about the star of the show. The Dutch letter is a flaky pastry shaped like an S, packed with almond paste, and topped with a light dusting of sugar.
I bit into mine while still standing on the sidewalk, which was probably undignified but completely worth it. The pastry shattered into layers, and the almond filling was rich without turning gummy.
Customers mention Dutch letters more than any other item here, and after one taste I understood the obsession. Some folks buy a dozen and freeze them.
Others order them shipped across the country because a childhood memory demands it.
My regret matched a common one I heard in line: I did not buy enough. Two letters vanish faster than you expect, especially if you are sharing with anyone in the car.
If you want the full experience, get a banket too. It is the same almond idea in a long log shape, sliceable and ideal for a coffee break the next morning.
Buy extra. Future you will send a thank-you note.
Puff Pillows, Creme Horns, And Other Case Favorites
Beyond the famous letters, the display cases turn into a decision-making crisis. Puff pillows show up constantly in conversations, and for good reason: airy pastry with sweet cream tucked inside.
My personal weakness turned out to be the creme horns, those cone-shaped pastries filled end to end. I also grabbed apple rings, which taste like a doughnut that went apple picking.
Strudel slices, coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls, and Bismarcks round out the lineup. The coffee cake is the kind of thing you buy whole, set on the kitchen counter, and slowly demolish over three days.
Fair warning from my own experience and from other visitors: some fillings run very sweet. If you prefer a lighter touch, lean toward the almond items or the plainer breads instead of the cream-filled doughnuts.
Prices struck me as reasonable for the quality, though it is remarkably easy to run up a big total. I walked in planning to spend fifteen dollars and walked out having spent considerably more.
No shame in that. The box smelled incredible the whole ride home.
Cookies With Serious Local Reputation
Cookie fans, pay attention here. The almond cookies known locally as Andre’s cookies have a following that borders on devotion, and several people in line told me to grab a bag before anything else.
Windmill cookies, or speculaas-style spiced cookies, are the other must-buy. They are thin, crisp, warmly spiced, and dangerously easy to eat by the handful with coffee.
I picked up S-letter cookies too, which are smaller cousins of the big pastry letters. Sugar cookies sit nearby, often decorated for whatever season happens to be rolling through town.
Then there are the goat legs. Odd name, delicious reality: these puff pastry sticks are topped with sliced almonds and sugar, with each end dipped in chocolate, which is exactly the kind of quirk that makes an old bakery fun.
Cookies travel better than cream-filled items, so they make the smartest souvenir if you have a long drive ahead. Mine survived a full day in the car without any drama.
Stroopwafels also sit on the shelves, ready to be warmed over a mug of tea. Simple, chewy, and worth the small effort.
Fresh Breads And Homemade Egg Noodles
Sweets get the headlines, but I nearly missed the best practical purchase. Shelves near the back hold fresh loaves, including an almond bread that visitors rave about and order shipped to other states.
Homemade egg noodles were the surprise find. Packaged and ready to toss into soup, they turn a weeknight dinner into something that tastes like it took real effort.
I bought a loaf of bread thinking it would be a boring backup item. It ended up being the thing I finished first, sliced thick with butter the next morning.
Bread here has a decent shelf life, which matters if you are driving several hours home. A few items freeze well too, so stocking up is not a gamble.
The savory side of the counter also keeps things balanced. After three pastries, a plain slice of good bread is honestly a relief for your taste buds.
So do not sprint past the bread racks on your way to the sugar. That would be a rookie mistake, and your soup pot deserves better.
The Line Is Part Of The Experience
Nobody warned me about the line, so consider this your heads-up. On busy days, customers wait outside, then wind through the shop in an organized route before reaching the counter.
My wait ran about fifteen minutes on a regular weekday morning. Others have mentioned twenty minutes or more, and festival weekends stretch far longer than that.
Here is the thing though: the line moves steadily and it passes shelves of gifts and imported goods. I ended up browsing wooden shoes and candy tins instead of checking my phone.
One quirk to prepare for is the ordering setup. You sometimes place your order before getting a clear look at every case, so peek at the display and the menu boards while you shuffle forward.
Staff members work quickly without becoming rushed or short with anyone. Even during the busiest stretches, I got friendly answers to my questions about fillings.
My advice is simple: decide on your top three items before you reach the counter. Indecision at the front slows everybody down, including hungry you.
A Gift Shop Stuffed With Dutch Souvenirs
Half of this place is not a bakery at all. The front section works as a gift shop, filled with imported candies, blue and white pottery, wooden shoes, and small windmill trinkets.
I lost a solid ten minutes reading labels on chocolate bars I could not pronounce. That is time well spent when you are waiting anyway.
Souvenir hunters do well here. The selection covers everything from tiny keepsakes to gift-worthy items, and prices span a wide enough range that most budgets find something.
One thing to know: the gift side and the bakery side operate somewhat separately. If you have a question about a souvenir, ask on the gift side rather than at the bakery counter, since staff are stationed by area.
During busy periods, the gift shop can be lightly staffed while everyone handles the pastry rush. A little patience helps, especially on hot summer afternoons.
I walked out with a tin of imported candy that I fully intended to give away. It never made it out of my kitchen.
Tulip Time Turns Everything Up To Eleven
Every May, Pella fills up for its tulip festival, and the bakery becomes one of the busiest doors in town. I visited on a normal week, but I heard plenty of stories from festival veterans.
Some travelers try showing up the weekend before the festival to beat the crush. Spoiler: the crowd already arrives early, and the line stretches out the door anyway.
The upside is atmosphere. Tulips bloom by the thousands, costumed dancers fill the street, and the whole downtown feels like a celebration with pastry as the reward.
If crowds make you twitchy, aim for an ordinary Tuesday in autumn or winter instead. Same recipes, dramatically shorter wait, and more time to chat with the staff about what is fresh.
Festival days also mean certain items sell out faster. Getting there right at opening gives you the widest choice of letters and cookies.
Either way, you win. One version gives you spectacle, the other gives you breathing room, and both end with almond paste on your fingers.
Hours, Sundays Off, And Planning Your Visit
Timing matters more here than at most bakeries. Doors open at 6 AM and stay open until 6 PM, Monday through Saturday, which gives early risers a real advantage.
Sundays are closed. That is a long-standing decision tied to the community’s traditions, so plan your weekend trip around Saturday or come back Monday.
I arrived shortly after opening and the cases were at their fullest. By mid-afternoon, popular items thin out, especially on busy days.
There is no seating inside, so treat this as a takeout stop. I ate mine on a bench down the street, which honestly felt like the right way to do it.
Street parking sits nearby and the downtown is easy to walk, so you can park once and cover several blocks of shops on foot.
If you want to call ahead with questions, the shop answers the phone at +1 641-628-2940. Staff there have been genuinely helpful about item recommendations and ordering details.
Show up early, park easy, and leave room in your schedule for a second lap.
Shipping Treats Anywhere In The Country
Not everyone lives within driving distance of central Iowa, and the bakery clearly knows it. Orders get shipped across the country, and the packing holds up remarkably well.
I heard from folks in Texas who reorder almond bread and windmill cookies whenever the craving hits. Another shopper sent a variety box and a banket all the way to Mississippi for Father’s Day, arriving on schedule despite rough weather.
The staff apparently give real recommendations over the phone rather than just taking payment. That kind of help matters when you are choosing gifts sight unseen.
Shipping also solves the homesickness problem. Plenty of people grew up in Pella, moved away, and still want the same pastries they ate as kids.
You can browse and order through the bakery’s website, or call and talk it through with someone who knows the products.
My own plan is straightforward: order a banket before the holidays and pretend I baked it myself. Nobody has to know, and the almond filling will do all the convincing.