Dutch Doughnuts

Here are the Dutch Ollie Bollen our Dutch family traditionally makes every New Year's Eve. We have been making them for the past four years - ever since we got a deep-fryer. A better explanation of Ollie Bollen can be found in my past two posts: {2011} and {2012}.
We have tried plain Ollie Bollen, apple, raisin, raisin and apple, candied fruit, and chocolate chip. The conclusion? Plain are a bit too plain, apple adds a little moistness and flavor but still lacks a little, raisin are good, apple and raisin are better, candied fruit are good but very sticky, and chocolate chip are delicious but not ideal for doing large batches, as it is also messy. How do you like your Ollie Bollen?

Ollie Bollen 
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated (white) sugar
1 package yeast
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
raisins and/or diced, peeled apple (1-2 cups total) 
oil for deep-frying
icing sugar for dusting 

In a large bowl, stir together the water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast over top, let stand for ten minutes until frothy. Stir to dissolve. 
Beat in next seven ingredients. Allow dough to rise for an hour and a half until doubled in bulk. 
Heat oil to 375◦F. Drop dough by tablespoon into the oil. Cook until crispy, a few minutes per side. Drain on paper towels then coat in icing sugar. 

Mock Royal Icing

This is an icing recipe that is similar to royal icing, but much quicker and easier to make. Royal icing is a thick, stiff icing that hardens quickly, making it ideal for piping, decorating, and constructing, especially when cookies are involved. Royal icing can vary in stiffness, and can even be rock solid once dried. It is the icing that comes in those gingerbread house kits, because it is ideal in holding the walls of the house up. However, royal icing can be a bit tricky and time consuming to make. There is a lot of beating involved, and it requires either meringue powder or egg whites. If using egg whites, this would cause the icing to contain raw eggs, which can be a food safety hazard. Meringue power won't pose a hazard, however it isn't as readily available as eggs.

That is why I choose to use a mock royal icing. It has the same consistency and dries the same, but doesn't use any egg product and only takes a minute to whip up. More or less can easily be made, and it can be tinted any color you wish. It only uses a few ingredients and if you would like a bit thinner royal icing, you can easily add a little extra water.

Mock Royal Icing
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon water

Mix all together, and adjust the consistency as needed by adding a little extra sugar or water. If you tint it using liquid food coloring, keep in mind this will thin it out a bit.

I used this icing recipe for my cookies from yesterday. It hardens in seconds, and the cookies were even able to be stacked without fear of messing up the lettering. 

TIP (thanks dad): If the icing becomes difficult to pipe or your wrist is really sore, warm the decorating tip under warm water for a few seconds, then continue piping to help loosen the icing. This will not affect the consistency of the final icing. Just be careful, as the first bit that comes out may be very liquidy. 

Dark Chocolate Truffle Torte

This is a dark chocolate truffle torte I made, then garnished with icing sugar dusted on top in the shapes of a teddy bear, a shooting star, and a moon. This isn't necessary, but it just makes the dessert look a little prettier, I think. I also spread a simple chocolate glaze on top of the torte, since the torte is made with dark chocolate and may be a little bitter. The glaze and the icing sugar should add a little sweetness to the torte.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Torte
100 grams dark chocolate (85% cocoa), broken into pieces
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line a 9-inch pie plate with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Melt the chocolate and butter together, either in the microwave or on the stove, and stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 35 minutes, until edges are set but center is still slightly jiggly. Chill well before serving and garnish as desired.

I baked mine for 35 minutes, and the edges formed a brownie like crust, but the middle was still very fudgey and rich. I wanted to make sure it was fully cooked. The center will still be slightly jiggly, but will set upon cooling. 
You can use a chocolate with a lower cocoa content for a sweeter tart, or use semi-sweet chocolate and reduce the amount of sugar. 
This tart is fudgey and quite rich, especially if you use sweeter chocolate  But it is decadent and chocolaty and I really like it, as would any dark chocolate fan. A glaze really helps pull it all together, I will feature that tomorrow. 

New Year's Ollie Bollen

I know I featured these last year as well, but the occasion for Ollie Bollen only comes around once a year, so I figured I would share them again! Besides, this is only our third year making them, and every year we are improving more and more and discovering different techniques that work better. Just as a brief recap, Ollie Bollen are deep fried Dutch fritters, literally translated as "oil balls", but commonly referred to as Dutch doughnuts. They are traditionally made and enjoyed once a year on New Year's Eve, and any leftovers (which doesn't always happen) are enjoyed for breakfast the next morning with a steaming cup of coffee. Ollie Bollen are best eaten fresh of course, but they do reheat fairly well the next day in the toaster oven. And of course, you cannot have Ollie Bollen that have not been sprinkled (or more commonly, drowned) in a layer of icing sugar.
My father is always the master of the Ollie Bollen dough and deep fryer at our house. This is likely because he grew up in the Dutch household and was already familiar with the process. I believe he uses a recipe that is a combination of a modern recipe we found in one of our breads cookbooks, and his mother's old recipe. Ollie Bollen are okay plain, but they taste better with some chopped apples or raisins and the best with both. We also tried chopped, mixed glazed fruit (leftover from Christmas), which was good but a tad sticky and messy in the deep-fryer. We have even tried adding miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips, but be advised that this turns the oil a little messy, so if you really want chocolate Ollie Bollen, wait until the end of the batch. They are quite tasty though!

Chocolate Potato Fudge

The title of this post may be strange or misleading, but mashed potato chocolate fudge is actually the best fudge I have ever made; it is delicious! The recipe originates from potato candy, which was invented during war time when ingredients like sugar were scarce and expensive, and foods like potatoes were greatly abundant. Potato fudge was originally invented as a way to stretch foods and save money, but is now made because it works, and it is a bit healthier than regular chocolate fudge and candies. I came across the recipe about a year ago while I was doing some research on what ingredients to use for healthier baking. I found this recipe and it certainly intrigued me, so I just had to try it. And I am sure glad that I did!
The addition of mashed potatoes to fudge can make the fudge a bit healthier, not to mention it is a great way to use up some leftovers in the fridge. The mashed potatoes replace some of the butter in the fudge. Also, this fudge is quite a bit different from traditional fudge recipes. It is not boiled on the stove top, in fact, this fudge is more similar to making chocolate truffles. The mashed potatoes are creamed with the butter and cocoa and vanilla, and icing sugar is gradually creamed in until the fudge reaches the desired consistency. Therefore, this fudge is a lot softer and has a different texture then boiled fudge, but it still holds up well and is very smooth, satiny, and yummy. There is no milk used in the fudge, no liquid at all actually, due to the preparation technique, which also cuts back on the fat amount. Just a warning though, this fudge is still far from being a healthy treat. It may be a bit better than regular fudge due to the addition of mashed potatoes, but it still contains as much, if not more, sugar. Fudge is a sweet treat to be enjoyed in moderation.
Here is the recipe for mashed potato fudge. It becomes quite soft when left out at room temperature, so it should be kept cool, but it will keep for a while in the fridge.

Mashed Potato Fudge
6 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine
½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup mashed potatoes

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pound (3 1/2 - 4 cups) icing sugar

Line a 8 or 9-inch square pan with foil and lightly butter the foil.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in the cocoa until smooth. Add the potatoes, salt, and vanilla, mix well until mixture is very smooth. Gradually blend in the icing sugar, in 1/2 cup increments, until it is completely mixed in. Mixture will become very stiff, knead if necessary. Press into prepared pan and refrigerate before cutting.

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!

Button Cookies

Another Christmas cookie to display: Button Cookies. We just started making these cookies a few years ago, but since then, they have become a tradition that is greatly adored. These button cookies are really just brown sugar shortbread cookies with holes poked in them after baking. They must be made using real butter for the best taste, and it is customary for them to be overloaded with powdered sugar, so that you inhale it when you take a bite. The holes are simply poked with a wooden skewer, we usually go with four holes, but have also tried three and five holes, which look nice too. My mother and I make these cookies together: she does most of the mixing and the baking, and I poke the holes and sprinkle with icing sugar. These cookies are quite fun to make, and they really are cute as a button.