Oliebollen

The earliest known Dutch recipe for olykoek appears in the book De Verstandige Kok (The Clever Cook) from 1667. A painting by Albert Cuyp of a woman holding a bowl of oliebollen from around 1652 shows oliebollen that look like those in the recipe in De Verstandige Kok.

The 17th-century recipe contains a lot of raisins, equal amounts of flour plus chopped apple. Today’s oliebollen sold at the fair are usually made without any fruit added,