Table Stories · Recipes
Oliebollen: The Dutch New Year's Tradition That Tastes Like Coming Home
There's a moment in every Dutch December when the air changes. It thickens with something warm, something sweet, something deeply familiar. The scent of dough meeting hot oil. Powdered sugar drifting like the first snow. This is the smell of oliebollen—and if you've ever experienced it, you know: it smells like the year ending and beginning all at once.
What Are Oliebollen?
Oliebollen—literally "oil balls"—are traditional Dutch doughnuts. Round, golden, and impossibly tender inside. They're made from a simple yeasted dough, often studded with raisins and sometimes apple, then fried until they puff into crispy-edged clouds. A generous dusting of powdered sugar finishes them off. Simple ingredients. Extraordinary result.
They are the taste of Dutch winters. Of family kitchens. Of midnight countdowns and sticky fingers.
A History That Goes Back Centuries
The story of oliebollen stretches back to the Middle Ages, when fried dough was a practical luxury during the cold months between Christmas and Epiphany. The ingredients kept well. The warmth was welcome. And somewhere along the way, the tradition took root.
By the 17th century, Dutch immigrants carried the recipe to North America—where it eventually evolved into what we now know as the American doughnut. But here in the Netherlands, the oliebol remained. Unchanged. Beloved. A thread connecting generations.
The Recipe
Oliebollen — Traditional Dutch Doughnuts
Ingredients
- ¼ cup plus 1 tsp granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 4½ tsp instant dry yeast
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 250g raisins, soaked in warm water
- 8 cups vegetable or sunflower oil, for frying
- Confectioners' sugar, for garnish
- Ground cinnamon, for garnish
Method
- Mix 1 tsp sugar into lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand 10 minutes until it bubbles.
- Combine flour and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Add eggs and yeast mixture.
- Warm milk until lukewarm. Add half to the well, mix until combined. Add the rest, mix until smooth.
- Fold in drained raisins. Cover with a damp dishtowel. Let rise in a warm area for 1 hour until doubled. Stir in salt. The dough will be wet—this is normal.
- Heat oil to 350°F (175°C). Test with a wooden spoon handle—if bubbles form, it's ready.
- Dip two tablespoons in oil, then scoop and drop small balls of dough into the hot oil. Fry up to 6 at a time.
- Fry until golden brown on both sides, flipping when needed. Drain on paper towels.
- Sift confectioners' sugar and a dusting of cinnamon on top. Serve warm.
Gordina tip: The first oliebol is always for the cook—eaten standing at the stove, too hot, sugar on your lips. This is tradition.
The Ritual
Making oliebollen is not about efficiency. It's about the waiting. The watching. The first one you eat standing at the stove, too hot, sugar on your lips. It's about the people who gather around, the stories that get told while the oil sizzles.
At GORDINA, we believe that the objects we place on our tables shape the moments we share around them. A handcrafted placemat. A cloth napkin folded with care. A plate of warm oliebollen, dusted in white.
These are not just things. They are invitations. To slow down. To gather. To celebrate the simple, profound act of sharing a meal.
Happy New Year. May your table be full.