Monday, December 21, 2020

Oliebollen: Dutch Treat New Year's Eve Maya Corrigan #recipe

MAYA: Happy Holidays! Most of you have probably already settled on the menu for the holidays later this week, so I'm sharing a recipe for New Year's. In the Netherlands, it's traditional to welcome the New Year with Oliebollen and a glass of champagne. 


Oliebollen are like beignets. My best friend, who's mother was Dutch, makes them every New Year's. Since I don't deep fry anything, that's the only time I get to eat oliebollen (translation: oily balls). I'm sharing her recipe and photos.


Ingredients

1 package dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm milk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cups raisins, currants, or a mix of both
1 cooking apple, peeled and chopped small
Vegetable or sunflower, approx 8 cups or enough to fill a large pot
Powdered sugar to sift over the fried dough 





Directions

Sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup milk and stir until yeast dissolves.
Combine flour and salt. Add the remaining milk and egg.
Mix in the yeast mixture and fruit. Let stand in a warm place until the batter has doubled in size.







Heat the oil to 360-375 degrees for deep frying. Using two spoons, shape the batter into balls and drop them into the oil a few at a time. Fry until golden brown (about 8 minutes). 

Drain on paper towels. Before serving, sift powdered sugar over the olieballen. They can be served warm or at room temperature. They are best eaten on the same day you make them but can keep for a few days, though the dough on the outside won’t be as crispy.  

 










Maya Corrigan writes the Five-Ingredient Mysteries featuring café manger Val and her live-wire grandfather solving murders in a Chesapeake Bay town. Maya lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Before writing crime fiction, she taught American literature, writing, and detective fiction at Northern Virginia Community College and Georgetown University. When not reading and writing, she enjoys theater, travel, trivia, cooking, and crosswords.

Visit her website for easy recipes, mystery history and trivia, and a free culinary mystery story.

 

The 7th and latest book in Maya's series is Gingerdead Man.


During Bayport's Dickens of a Holiday festival, Val is hosting a private tea party for the volunteers dressed as Dickens characters including Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past. A Santa who's more naughty than nice also comes to tea. An unexpected guest arrives, "shrouded in a deep black garment" like the eeriest Dickens ghost, and hands out gingerbread men with white icing skeleton bones. Though the creepy treat called a gingerdead man looks like a Halloween leftover, cookie addict Santa can't resist it. When the man in red turns blue, Val and Granddad have a cookie-cutter killer to catch.

Do you have any special dishes you serve on New Years's Eve or New Year's Day?


Gelukkig nieuwjaar! Happy New Year!

11 comments:

  1. I've had oliebollen. The Dutch originally settled Grand Rapids where I now live. I worked for a senior services company in marketing and one year took pictures for the newsletter of the residents enjoying oliebollen. I had never heard of them before.

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    1. I wouldn't have heard of them either except that my best friend's mother was Dutch, and they are a family tradition.

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  2. These look great! I'm afraid of deep frying, but I might try to make my husband set up the deep fryer to give these a try.

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    1. I avoid deep frying too. I wonder if my husband would ... Nah.

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  3. These look delicious! I don't deep fry too many foods, but I would try with these.

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Tina. If you try making oliebollen, I hope you enjoy them.

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  4. Brings back so many memories of having these at my childhood best friend's house. They were dutch.
    My father's family is from Montreal and we grew up having tourtiere during the holidays. Will be making both this year!!!!
    Thank you

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    1. Thank you for your comment, Sandra. Have a delicious holiday!

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  5. Having spent a significant chunk of my life in Holland, MI I'm here to tell you that Olliebollen are readily available during Tulip Time, which is early in May. Their is always at least one food truck that makes them - and you can get them stuffed with custard or pudding. It's almost enough to make me go back for Tulip Time - but not quite! pjcoldren[at]tm[dot\net

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    1. Thanks for your comment, PJ. I've wanted for years to go to the Netherlands at tulip time. If they serve oliebollen then, it's an added incentive to go.

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  6. This recipe looks delicious. I have a question for anyone out there who is Dutch, a few years ago I picked up a a Dutch cook book thinking I could learn some of the recipes I've had in a small restaurant in Vancouver Canada. But when I arrived home I found out my new recipe book was also written in Dutch is there an app some where out there that will translate the recipes. 😲😯🤔🙄😊Kat

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