Winter Stall · Fried Dough Balls

Oliebollen

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Every winter the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad runs a national oliebollen test, ranking stalls across the country, and a top placing can bring long queues.

Oliebollen are round, yeasted dough balls — often studded with raisins, currants, and diced apple — deep-fried until dark golden and dusted heavily with powdered sugar. Seasonal wooden kraam (stalls) pop up on Dutch street corners from mid-November through New Year's Eve, frying them fresh in huge vats of oil.

Why it's made this way: It's often said to descend from Germanic midwinter fried-dough offerings, though the link is unproven; today it's inseparable from Dutch Oudjaarsavond (New Year's Eve) celebrations.