Which 1667 Dutch cookbook has the earliest discovered recipe for oliekoecken?

The earliest discovered recipe for oliekoecken appears in the 1667 Dutch cookbook De verstandige kock.

The title translates roughly as “The Sensible Cook.” Its oliekoecken recipe is important because oliekoek—literally “oil cake” or “oil cookie”—is considered the direct predecessor of the modern oliebol. The recipe documents a fried-dough tradition that later became strongly associated with Dutch New Year celebrations.

Oliekoeken and oliebollen were not always identical in name or form. For centuries, Dutch cooks used oliekoek for fried dough, while oliebol gradually became the more common term. The word oliebol began appearing in dictionaries in the nineteenth century, and its popularity overtook oliekoek during the early twentieth century.

The cookbook date is sometimes confused with the age of the modern word or the holiday custom. The 1667 date refers specifically to the earliest discovered written recipe for the precursor, not necessarily to the first time anyone prepared fried dough. De verstandige kock therefore provides a documented historical milestone rather than a definitive invention date.