When winter’s chill is in the air you’ll see the oliebollenkraam pop up on your local street corner. These cakey donut-like treats are a traditional Dutch food, especially in winter and for celebrating New Years. Here are the 5 best places to get oliebollen in Amsterdam.

Oliebollen dough is made from flour, eggs, yeast, milk, baking powder and salt. Raisins or currants are often added to the batter. Oliebollen are typically served topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

I think oliebollen are best when they are freshly made but usually they are sold already fried. You can heat them up at home in the oven or microwave. Some tips for reheating and an oliebollen recipe follow below.

Where to Get Oliebollen in Amsterdam

The Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblaad does a huge taste test of almost all the oliebollen in the Netherlands then publishes a list by ranking from best to worst.

Sadly in 2016 none of the top 50 oliebollen were in Amsterdam! That means if you want to try the best you’ll have to take a day trip to Rotterdam, Utrecht or one of many small towns. You can take a look at the 2016 oliebollentest list here.

5 Best Oliebollen in Amsterdam

Even though the AD did not love the oliebollen from Amsterdam the most, we still have some great oliebollen bakkers. Check out these five favorite places for oliebollen in Amsterdam.

Lanskroon

Can you believe Lanskroon has been in the same location for 100 years? Wow. This cute bakery on the Singel is a charming place to go for pastries, tea, stroopwafels and of course oliebollen!

Lanskroon
Singel 385, Amsterdam

R H Venekamp

In 2016 Venekamp got a very low rating on the AD oliebollen list. The owner was very upset and a video went viral of him crying over the result. The people of Amsterdam rallied behind him, saying his oliebollen are terrific and went out of their way to buy them. You should try them too!

R H Venekamp
Ferdinand Bolstraat  134, Amsterdam

Oliebollenkraam Marie Heinekenplein

Check out the charming stand at Marie Heinekenplein in de Pijp with all kinds of flavors of oliebollen. They have ginger, nutella, cherry and even salted caramel. It’s a fun place to get oliebollen in Amsterdam when exploring the neighborhood.

Oliebollenkraam Marie Heinekenplein

Hartogs Volkoren

This delicious bakery goes crazy over the winter months producing oliebollen for their hungry customers in Amsterdam Oost. Did you know they have been baking since 1896?

Hartog’s Volkoren
Wibautstraat 77, Amsterdam

Gebakkraam Verwijk

In 2015 this shop had the highest ranked oliebollen in the Amsterdam region at 36th place. This year they can be found at the Christiaan Huygensplein in Amsterdam near the Jaap Eden ice skating rink. They might be the best oliebollen in Amsterdam, you decide!

Gebakkraam Verwijk

Oliebollen Recipe

So, maybe you agree with the AD newspaper and you don’t want to sample any of the oliebollen in Amsterdam? 🙂 Or perhaps you’d just like to try making them at home. It’s a great idea if you are having a big New Years party!

Here is an oliebollen recipe adapted from the book Stuff Dutch People Eat, you can buy it online here at Bol.com

Ingredients

1 kilo flour
2 eggs
800 milliliters warm water
28 grams dried yeast
50 grams sugar
20 grams salt
30 grams lemon zest
50 grams melted butter
450 grams raisins
10 grams cinnamon

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water and set aside for 10 minutes. Then add the flour, eggs, butter, lemon zest and salt. Mix to create a smooth batter. Mix in raisins and cinnamon then loosely cover bowl with a damp dish towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes.

Fill a deep fryer 1/3 with canola oil, sunflower oil or other frying oil of your choice. Heat to 180 degrees.

Stir the dough mixture then add small balls of batter to the hot oil. Use in ice cream scoop or two spoons to form the balls. The balls should sink to the bottom of the fryer and then pop up to the surface. Fry each batch for about 6 or 7 minutes until golden.

Let them cool and release excess oil for a bit on a bed of paper towels. Top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and enjoy! (makes around 35 oliebollen)

Reheating oliebollen:

The best way to reheat oliebollen is in the oven. Place on a non stick pan and heat in a 180 degree oven for 2-3 minutes.

You can also reheat them in the microwave by heating at full power for about 10-15 seconds.

Posts you might also enjoy:

• 12 fun things to do in Amsterdam in winter
• Ice skating in Amsterdam
• 10 Dutch foods you should try
• Dutch food self-guided walking tour in Amsterdam
• Best bakeries in Amsterdam
• 10 day trips from Amsterdam in winter
• Vintage clothing shopping in Amsterdam
• Amsterdam weekly street markets
• 7 Dutch drinks you should try

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