Olie Koecken Recipes

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast in the water in a small bowl and sprinkle with the sugar. Let it stand for a moment, then stir to dissolve the yeast. Set aside in a warm place. In the meantime melt the butter and cool. Place the raisins in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Allow them to boil for a minute and then turn off the heat. Let them stand for 5 minutes and drain. Pat them dry with paper towels and mix them with 1 tablespoon of flour. Place the rest of the flour in a large bowl, stir in the salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast. Stir from the middle and slowly add the melted butter and the milk. The dough should be very thick and hard to stir. Then add raisins, apples, and almonds and combine thoroughly. Allow this batter to rise for about 1 hour. When doubled in bulk, stir down the dough. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and push it off the spoon with the aid of another spoon and let it (carefully) drop into the hot oil. They should be at least 2-inches in diameter. Fry the olie-koecken for about 5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. The original recipe does not tell us to sprinkle or roll them in the sugar. They are very good plain, but if you prefer you can dust them with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• In a cup, combine the yeast, warm water and sugar and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Set aside in a warm place.
• Place the raisins in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes. Drain the raisins and pat them dry between paper towels. Place them in a small bowl and toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour.
• Place the remaining flour in a large bowl and stir in the salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and pour the melted butter, milk and yeast into the well. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined in a thick dough.
• Stir in the raisins, apples and almonds. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• When ready to cook, pour the oil to a depth of 2 inches in a heavy kettle or deep fryer and heat to 350 degrees. Working in batches, scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough and use another spoon to push the dough into the hot oil. (Be careful not to splash oil, and do not overcrowd the pan.) Fry, turning them once, until they are golden brown on the outside and the dough is cooked through.
• Transfer the fritters to paper towels to drain; continue frying in batches until all the dough is used. Sprinkle the fritters with the confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Beat the eggs and 3/4 cup of the sugar together. Whisk the flour, baking powder together and add this mixture to the egg mixture alternately with the milk. Fold in the raisins.
• Heat cooking oil to a depth of 2 inches in a heavy saucepan or deep fat fryer. When the oil reaches 350 degrees, drop tablespoons of the batter into the fat and fry until golden.
• Drain on absorbent paper and dust with the remaining sugar before serving.