This seems like a classic Best of Bridge recipe – homemade doughnuts made from a recipe handed down over generations. After all, you only make doughnuts when you have friends and family around to eat them. Olie Bollen are traditional Dutch apple and raisin fritters – the easiest kind of doughnut to make.
There’s no need to roll and cut them, you can simply drop spoonfuls of dough into the hot oil and fry until golden and crisp. Experiment with other fruit in season, too – ripe peaches are delicious, just pat them dry if they’re overly juicy. This recipe comes from a friend of a friend of a friend, who says it was her grandmother’s specialty. Serve them as an after school snack if you have extra hungry kids in the house, or for brunch when you’ll have more people around the table. They’re best warm, doused in powdered sugar.
- 1 cup lukewarm milk
- 1 pkg (2 tsp) active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 4 - 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large tart apple, chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
- canola oil, for frying
- icing sugar, for dusting
- Put the warm milk into a large bowl and sprinkle over the yeast and a pinch of sugar; let stand for a few minutes, until it gets foamy. Add the remaining sugar, water, half the flour, and the butter, egg and salt and stir until well combined and sticky. Add the remaining flour (leaving half a cup back in case it needs it at the end) and stir until the dough comes together, then knead - by hand or with the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer - for about 5 minutes, or until it’s smooth and elastic. It should be tacky, but not overly sticky.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel for an hour or two, until doubled in size. Take out the dough and work in the apple and raisins by folding the dough over them to incorporate.
- Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a wide, heavy pot set over medium-high heat until it’s hot, but not smoking - if you have a candy thermometer it should be about 350˚F, or you could take a scrap of the dough and dip it in - if it sizzles and bubbles around the dough, it's ready to go.
- Drop the dough by the small spoonful (or tear off small chunks) into the oil without crowding the pot and cook for a minute or so, until golden on the bottom. Gently flip (tongs or a bamboo skewer work well for this) and cook until golden on the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet to cool. Shower with icing sugar while still warm. Makes lots.
