Dutch Oliebollen - A Tradition at New Years Eve

It is more than a month ago since New Years Eve. I hope everyone is having a good 2025 so far. I have, as my mental health is getting where it should be - slowly getting in the right direction, but I am still working on a lot of things. I am not where I want to be. I got my first therapy session and it is great to have them. At least, it helps me.

Still, despite my mental health issues, I managed to bake the Dutch Oliebollen during New Years Eve.

Dutch oliebollen are a tradition to bake during New Years Eve in The Netherlands. Oliebollen, as we speak about, are dark gold-brown round balls made of dough. You can make natural ones, but you also can add some raisins, apples or something else you like in these balls of dough. I added raisins and apples in them. The apple variation are my kids favourites.

I bought a package to make these Oliebollen, but you also can make oliebollen with flour and then you have to add yeast as well. This time, I just had lack of time, I bought a package from the store. I still have to bake them myself - wchich I love to do so. It gives me a feeling of joy and being a bit festive on the last day of 2024.

My children love to eat them and I love to eat them a lot.

Recipe from a package

How to prepare:

1. Take two handfuls of raisins. Put them in a bowl and wash the raisins with lukewarm tap water. Let them soak in a bowl until they are clean. The water will then become dull.

2. Peel the apples, remove the core and cut them into small cubes. Then wash the apple cubes and put them in a colander with tissues.

3. Put the flour mix from the package in a large mixing bowl. Mix this with lukewarm water. Mix the flour with the water and the raisins until you have a smooth dough.

4. Repeat step three in a separate mixing bowl to make the version with apples instead of raisins.

5. If you want, you can also make a version with apples and raisins together.

6. If you don't like raisins or apples, you can also make plain oliebollen.

7. After you have mixed everything, put the batter bowl with the dough in a dark, warm place. Put a tea towel over it that has been soaked completely with lukewarm water. Wring out the tea towel well before puting it over de bowl. Put the tea towel over the batter bowl. Let this rise for two to four hours. Depending on how high the dough is.

8. Take a deep pan or a deep fryer, put the sunflower oil up to about one and a half fingers below the edge of the pan. Olive oil is not good for this recipe. When the batter bowl with dought still needs to rise for half an hour, put the sunflower oil on the fire, so that it is already nice and warm to be able to make the oliebollen.

9. When the oil is hot and the dough has risen well, you can start baking: take an ice cream tong or two dining spoons and put it in the dough. Then you put it gently in the oil and let go of the dough. Then it stays on the bottom of the pan for a while, if it rises, the oil is hot enough to start baking. You can leave the first oliebol in the oil. Repeat this step until all the dough is used up. Then you slowly turn off the heat.

10. Place paper napkins on a large serving plate. And place each oliebol you have made on top.

Serving tip: place the oliebollen you want to eat on a small plate and serve with a nice layer of powdered sugar on top.