Oil Balls! Yum!

Mmmmm olie bollen (oil balls), the Dutch New Year's Eve donuts.

Like many European cultures, the Dutch have a number of holiday season customs beyond just giving each other presents. The festivities start mid-November and run up to the New Year.

A perennial favorite is the custom of eating oil balls to ring in the New Year. Olie bollen stands popped up at shopping malls and plazas all around town a couple of weeks ago. Our neighborhood olie bollen stand (below) seems to be manned by slackers who can't be bothered to make them fresh. They've also discontinued serving other seasonal treats such as chocolate-dipped waffles and fruit-filled pastries.




Olie bollen come in a number of flavors - plain, raisin, apple and my favorite almond, or amendel bol. These deep-fried delicacies are nothing but oily.




As the precursor to the modern-day donut, this 17th-century goodie is most definitely unhealthy. Though it does make a nice lip balm.