Ollie-Bollen

Ollie-Bollen are deep-fried Dutch fritters traditionally made on New Year's Eve. There are several different spelling variations of the name, including Olie Bollen, Oliebollen and Oliebol, but they all refer to these delicious Dutch doughnuts. The literal translation of Ollie-Bollen is "oil balls" as they are deep fried. This doesn't make them sound very appealing, but they really are good, and don't turn out very greasy at all. Although they are referred to as doughnuts, Ollie-Bollen are closer in taste and texture to little fritters. They are made from a yeast dough enriched with flour, eggs, milk, salt, and vanilla. They are usually flavored with something too, commonly apples, raisins, citrus zest, or combinations of these; although we have also successfully made plain ones, a bit bland, but nothing a pile of icing sugar can't fix!  Ollie-Bollen  are dropped by teaspoons into hot oil and fried just until crispy and golden. Then they are drained and dunked in as much icing sugar as possible. It isn't considered Ollie-Bollen unless you can inhale icing sugar while biting into a fritter.

My father's family used to always make Ollie-Bollen on New Year's Eve, and we recently began continuing the tradition. The leftovers are commonly eaten for breakfast the next morning with a cup of coffee. Ollie-Bollen are said to have originally been in eaten in the Netherlands by Germanic tribes during the Yule period.

Ollie-Bollen are not particularly difficult to make, but they do take some practice, and you must be familiar with a deep fryer to make them. Although they can be fried in a pot of hot oil on the stove, this can be dangerous and is not recommended. Ollie-Bollen dough also requires some rising time, so plan ahead. You may find some fritters close to Ollie-Bollen in coffee shops, especially in Europe, but homemade are much better. Ollie-Bollen are nice and crisp on the outside and tender and flaky on the inside. They also have a nice flavor and a sweet coating. There is nothing like a fresh Ollie-Bollen on New Year's Eve!