Oliebollen – Dutch doughnuts with raisins

Simple to prepare, in the characteristic uncomplicated spirit of Dutch cuisine, tasty and aromatic, oliebollen are a specialty of Dutch doughnuts that have raisins or pieces of apple in them (but it is not mandatory; there is also a simple version).

The tradition is to eat them at the New Year’s Eve dinner, but you can find them all around the city during the whole month of December. The streets are filled with their sweet vanilla smell, and it’s simply wonderful.

They are super tasty while warm, but they are also good cold, and if you heat them in the microwave for 40 seconds, they will be super good. They stay fresh for about 3 days

You can also freeze them and heat them in the oven a few minutes before serving, after defrosting.

Ingredients: (For about 20 pieces)

• 500 ml warm milk
• 500 g flour
• 200 g raisins
• 1 rum essence
• 1 vanilla essence
• grated peel from a lemon
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• 7 g dry yeast
• one egg
• a little salt
• ~ 1 l of sunflower oil for frying
• powdered vanilla (or plain) sugar for serving

Preparation:

Wash the raisins well and put them in a bowl of hot water together with the rum essence. Let them soak. Mix well the warm milk with the yeast and sugar and leave it aside for about 15 minutes.

Put the flour together with the salt in a bowl and mix well. Add the egg and mix. Add the milk & yeast mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon. Then add the well-drained raisins, lemon peel, and vanilla essence and mix well – you will get a sticky and elastic dough. Cover the bowl with foil and leave it in a warm place for about 1.5-2 hours or until the dough has doubled its volume.

Prepare a deep pan and heat the oil (about 1 liter). With the help of a spoon, take some dough, put it in the pot, and fry the donuts until they are brown. Remove them with the help of a spatula with holes and transfer them to a plate lined with paper napkins to absorb the excess oil. Proceed in this way until you finish the dough.

Transfer them to a plate and sprinkle with sugar.

If you try the recipe, let me know how you liked it! 😊

*All photos and texts are the exclusive property of AndreeaCooks.com. Reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without prior written consent and is subject to legal action under applicable copyright laws.