Brooke adds that the emotional connection that some customers have with this doughnut is so strong, “We have had a few brought to tears as they were eating them.”

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As mentioned, oliebollen stands vend the wintry morsels starting in autumn, but no New Year’s party is complete without them; typically guests enjoy an oliebol in one hand and a flute of champagne in the other while fireworks erupt all around. (As an American who has rung in the New Year in Amsterdam, I assure you that’s no exaggeration: the Dutch ring in the new year with twice the fervor of our Fourth of July celebrations, and seemingly every household sets off an arsenal of explosives.) But when the fireworks are over, the warm, comforting embrace of oliebollen sticks around for at least another few weeks.