Italian Fried Bow Ties (Farfellette) Cookies

I love these delicate fried bow tie dough ribbons that show up on the table every Christmas.

The crispy fried puffs of dough are delicate and quite fragile with this delicious snowy sugar on top.

Grandma and mom spent hours rolling, cutting, and frying these to give away to family and friends around the holidays.

My Aunt Mary (grandma's daughter) also helped her own sister-in-law who actually sold these in Schenectady, N.Y., so we had an authentic recipe.

We called them wands in Utica, New York, or bow ties, other Regions refer to these as Angel Wings,Frappe, Lattughe, Sfrappole, Bugie, Guanti, Farfellette, Crostoli, and sometimes Cenci (rags).

These are so addicting you can't stop eating them and regardless of the names these fried Italian cookies are a simple dough, rolled thin, fried until golden and bubbly, and are enjoyed fresh, sometimes accompanied by coffee, dessert wine, or dipping sauces.

They happen to be my favorite little fried flaky cookies full of powdery sugar on top and very addicting.

These bow ties are at the top of my list for Italian holiday cookies, like my other fried favorites including Struffoli (fried honey-covered balls), Italian Fried Panzerotti (fried stuffed pizza dough), and fried dough (zeppole).

Scroll down and check out the easy photos, and instructions.

Struffoli Fried Honey Balls

Here's the story behind these delicious fried Italian cookies called Struffoli.


Struffoli is an absolute requirement at the end of a Neapolitan Christmas Day dinner.


For centuries, they were prepared in convents by nuns and then distributed to noble families at Christmas as a thank-you for their generosity.


Each convent had its own closely guarded secret recipe.


The sugary aromas drifted from the convent ovens. Neapolitans would gather near the convent gates waiting to purchase them through a barred window or the convent, which may explain the long-held preference for buying desserts rather than making them at home.


These deep-fried balls of dough are the size of marbles, crunchy on the outside, fluffy and light inside, then covered in honey.


Some are decorated with colored sprinkles, pieces of candied orange rind, or candied pumpkin.


An amazing honey glaze over delicate, puffy fried dough rounds.


An Italian must make at Christmas time if they last that long before our Italian Christmas Eve traditions.


There are so many names for them besides Struffoli, like honey chichers, honey balls, fried honey cookies, pignolata, honey dipped dough balls, just to name a few from different Regions in Italy.


We love holiday foods. You may also like to scroll through our 25 Favorite Cookies and our One Stop Cookie Shop.


A traditional and classic fried cookie, and it just wouldn't be Christmas without them in our family!


Buon Natale, scroll all the way down to the recipe card for printable instructions.