Swiss Balls (Couilles de Suisse)
"Swiss balls" are little bread-dough dumplings (often enriched with butter and egg yolks, but this is optional) that are boiled in water and served with melted farm butter and light or dark brown sugar. This sweet and hearty dish is perfect for feeding the whole family. Despite the name, this recipe comes from Wallonia, the southern part of Belgium 🇧🇪 around Charleroi and the coal mining cities, where families of modest means could fill their family's belly with this rich, joyful and easy dish.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Pour half of the flour into a mixing bowl.
- 2
Dilute the yeast in lukewarm milk.
- 3
Add the crumbled yeast, 125 g of melted butter, 4 egg yolks, the salt, and the sugar (each on its own side of the bowl).
- 4
Mix, then add the remaining flour and knead again to obtain a soft dough.
- 5
Cover and let rise on a clean kitchen towel for 45–60 minutes.
Timer: 1h - 6
Divide the dough into small balls about the size of an egg.
- 7
Place the balls on a floured towel and let them rest for another 30 minutes (cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying).
Timer: 30m - 8
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with about 10 g of salt per liter of water.
- 9
Gently drop the dough balls into the boiling water.
- 10
Cook for 2–3 minutes, turn them over, and cook for another 2–3 minutes.
Timer: 3m - 11
Remove the balls with a slotted spoon.
- 12
Place them on a hot serving dish and pour the remaining melted farm butter over them.
- 13
Finally, sprinkle generously with light brown sugar and serve hot.