Dutch oliebollen, or oil balls, with raisins. This is a twist on my classic recipe for oliebollen with dried currants and golden raisins. The perfect sweet treat to serve on New Year’s eve!
Traditional Dutch doughnuts
These oliebollen with raisins are an adaptions of the classic Dutch oliebollen. I love to serve both and they make for some delicious treats to serve while celebrating de the new year. They are wonderfully airy, doughy, crunchy, sweet with a little bite due to the raisins… really perfect!

Dutch oliebollen with raisins and currants
On New Year’s Eve, as Dutchies our table is usually filled with the tastiest New Year’s Eve snacks, savory and sweet… something for everyone! But New Year’s Eve just isn’t complete without a good oliebol or some apple turnovers..
To make these oliebollen even more festive, I decided to make them with dried currants and golden raisins, you can even soak these overnight in some rum. You have to admit, it looks festive, doesn’t it? It is also delicious to add pieces of apple or to replace some of the raisins.

The perfect oliebol
To make the perfect oliebol, you only need a few things. A good dough, enough hot oil and good ventilation…. . You do not need a deep fryer to fry the oliebollen, but I often use an ordinary high soup pan and simple sunflower oil!
Another tip I can give you is to use an ice cream scoop to scoop your dough into the oil, this saves you a lot of mess and ensures you get roughly equal sized oil balls. A slotted spoon is also recommended for scooping the balls out of the oil.

Making your own oliebollen with raisins
If you are going to make your own snacks for New Year’s Eve, don’t hesitate to make your own oliebollen with raisins. Some other great festive snacks are these Dutch bitterballen or try this amazing brie brûlée!
Will you let me know if you try these? Wishing you a very wonderful and culinary new year!


Ingredients
- 500 ml whole milk (lukewarm)
- 7 gram dried yeast
- 500 gram all purpose flour
- 25 gram sugar
- 7 gram salt
- 100 gram currants
- 50 gram golden raisins
- sunflower oil for frying
- powdered sugar for garnish
Equipment
- Handmixer or food processor
- Ice-cream scoop
- Large (frying) pan or deep fryer
- Slotted spoon
INSTRUCTIONS (how to make this recipe):
- Mix the lukewarm milk with the yeast and granulated sugar. Leave to stand for a few minutes until it starts to bubble.
- Put the flour, salt and yeast mixture in a bowl and use a food processor to make a smooth dough. Using a spatula, fold in the currants and raisins*.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and a tea towel and place in a warm place. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan to 180 degrees Celsius / 355 Fahrenheit.
- Using an ice cream scoop, drop some of the dough into the hot oil and fry until cooked and golden brown.
- Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
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