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Frappe or Cioffe: Italian Bow Tie Cookies

Frappe or cioffe, chiacchiere, bugie (I could go on) are traditional Carnevale Italian bow tie cookies, for lack of a better name. The fried, slightly sweetened dough is transformed into light as angel wings pastries, which taste just as heavenly, especially with a dusting of powdered sugar!

cioffe on a plate (Italian bow tie cookies)

Originally published March 13, 2013.

If you were to ask ten Italians what these lovely, crispy things are called, and I bet you will get close to 10 different responses, and frappe would be one of them.

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This causes a problem for those of us who know of these delicious deep fried Italian bow tie cookies, but either do not know what they are called or cannot remember their name. The list of searches which lead readers to this page includes things like Italian ribbon cookies, Italian fried cookies, Italian bow tie cookies, and angel wings recipe. They truly are not cookies, but pastries, however it’s what most people are using to refer to them.

cioffe, Italian bow tie cookies

My friend Cynthia from What a Girl Eats always makes a King Cake for Mardi Gras.

What a Girl Eats King Cake

What are Italian Frappe or Cioffe or Italian Bow Tie Cookies?

These light and crispy cookies are made from a lightly sweetened dough (similar to pasta dough) that is rolled thinly then deep-fried until they are a light, golden color. I see some that are much darker when fried, but my family doesn’t make them this way (I think they’re overcooked when they’re this color, or the oil isn’t fresh).

Depending from which part of Italy one’s family originates, and what that family named them, they can be called:

  • bugie
  • canestrelle
  • cenci
  • chiacchiere
  • cioffe
  • crostoli
  • frappe
  • galani
  • guandi
  • storce
  • and so many other names.

In English, these are often called bow ties, angel wings, or Italian fried cookies.

Cioffe dusted in sugar with Venetian carnevale mask


My immediate family calls them “cioff” (pronounced CHOFF) which means “bows” in the dialect we speak, but is just an abbreviated form of “cioffe”. They are usually made with some sort of liquor, like marsala or rum, but I’ve made them with good old Scotch whisky, so they’re like me: SCOTTISH-ITALIAN! 😍

Speaking of Scotland, I also grew up eating Shrove Tuesday pancakes (the day before Ash Wednesday).

Shrove Tuesday Pancakes, Pancake Tuesday

Frappe, or cioffe, are traditional Italian deep fried pastries which are usually made for Carnevale (just before lent), and at Christmas, but I grew up with my mother and aunts making them all year long. For example, they were always present at birthday celebrations.

Everyone who tastes these light and crispy bow tie cookies just can’t stop after eating only one! The dough is similar to pasta dough in texture, rolled thinly, cut, shaped and then fried. Afterwards, they are often dusted in powdered sugar or decorated with icing and sprinkles.

Iced Italian bow tie cookie

Italian Bow Tie Cookies Make a Lasting Impact!

A few weeks ago, I received a Facebook message from a Pauline living in Australia whose name I didn’t recognize (this may seem off-topic, but stay with me).

She asked if I was related to an old neighbor of hers from Scotland (my Aunt Virginia.) I wrote back and told her I was, and the next thing I knew, Pauline was describing how my aunt used to make these things called “choffs” which were little strips of sweetened dough, with the edges “pinked” and she’d dot them with colored icing. She was describing Italian bow tie cookies! She said that my aunt would give them to her and her mother, and they were such a treat! Who knew little fried pieces of dough could make such an impact?

Italian bow tie cookies with Venetian carnevale mask in background

Well, Pauline, here’s the recipe for frappe (or cioffe), so now you can make them for your own family (and neighbors)! For those of you who are interested, the bone china cup and saucer is the Wedgwood, Cornucopia pattern.

Wedgwood Cornucopia cup and saucer with an Italian bow tie cookie made like a braid cioffe
These delicate braids are not typical of the traditional Italian shapes. My mother just made them with leftover dough.

Try serving these with a glass of homemade chocolate liqueur. Laura from My Guardian Chef has an authentic Italian recipe for you!

cioffe, Italian bow tie cookies in a pile

How to Make Italian Bow Tie Cookies
(Frappe or Cioffe)

a family recipe handed down from my Nonna                 makes about 2 dozen

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

  • eggs
  • sugar
  • salt
  • whisky
  • flour
  • confectioner’s sugar

Directions

Using a mixer, place eggs, sugar, salt, and whisky in a large bowl and mix for two minutes or so (if making by hand, combine the ingredients, and stir well with a wooden spoon.)

adding whisky to bowl

Add one cup (in UK, just use a regular cup-no need to measure) of flour and mix well. Next, add the remaining flour and mix until a slightly sticky dough forms.

dough for cenci

With hands, shape dough into a ball and refrigerate, covered, for about an hour.

dough for Italian bow tie cookies cioffe

Remove from fridge and cut dough in half and roll out one piece very thinly, on floured workspace.

making Italian bow tie cookies cioffe

Alternatively, if you have a pasta rolling machine, you can use it to make cioffe. I started on setting #1, and continued until I reached setting #4.

rolling dough for cioffe

Dough will be elastic, so if you’re hand rolling, give it another roll it if it gets too thick. Use a knife or cutter (shown in photo) to cut into strips.

cutting strips of dough for chiacchiere

How to Shape Italian Bow Tie Cookies

Cut a strip: no size is right or wrong, but about 6 or 7 inches is a good size. Make a little cut towards one end.

cutting Italian cioffe cookies

Now place the opposite end through that slit, and pull through to make a ribbon shape. Don’t be afraid to pull and stretch as you want a thin result.

shaping an Italian bow tie cookie

So it looks like these.

raw frappe on a counter ready to fry

Another way to make cioffe is to make a slit in the middle of a shorter strip.Then take one end and pull it through the hole completely. Repeat, until all of dough is used. You’ve now shaped two different Italian bow tie cookies!

making italian bow tie cookies

You can use an extra long strip of dough to start to tie a knot and make pretzel shape.

KEEP THE DOUGH COVERED IF YOU ARE NOT USING IT AS IT DRIES OUT QUICKLY. These are best made with a team of two people: one to cut and shape, and one to fry.

Meanwhile, heat some oil in a pot or deep fryer (I use a wok) until hot. Before dropping the pastry in the oil, pull and stretch each one, so that it is thinner (as they shrink after being shaped) then begin frying the pastries until puffed and light brown on each side.

Remove carefully with a strainer and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool.

deep frying Italian bow tie cookies

When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Or decorate with a simple sugar icing (powdered sugar and water or milk) and sprinkles, or honey.

dusting cenci with sugar

Speaking of honey, this same dough is used to make cicerchiata or struffoli at Christmastime.

Cicerchiata

cioffe with a Venetian carnevale mask

Get Creative with Cioffe Dough

As I noted in a photo at the beginning. My mother got creative when I went to a food blogger meeting and made these incredibly beautiful pastries. She cut thin pieces of dough, braided them and fried them in the same manner as the larger ones. I love the super-light, crispy texture.

Cioffe or Italian bow tie cookes made like a braid

My cousin Gianfranco suggested cutting the dough with the spaghetti roller and deep frying the thin strips. Those turned out good, too! You can essentially make any sort of shape you like, just make sure that there’s space between the cut parts so that the oil can cook them evenly.

I truly hope you enjoyed my post about cioffe, and now you know the name for those Italian bow tie cookies!

Here’s another traditional Italian treat that’s great for holidays: pizzelle!

Pizzelle by Christina's Cucina

cioffe on a plate (Italian bow tie cookies)

Frappe or Cioffe: Bows and Ribbons of Fried Sweetened Dough

Servings: 36
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
A very traditional Italian treat known by lots of different names in Italy. Typically made for Carnevale and Christmas.
4.7 from 159 votes

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs large
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup Scotch whisky (or any similar, clear liquor)
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 ¾ cups flour

To Fry

  • olive oil to fry (or avocado oil)

To decorate

  • powdered confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • Using a stand mixer, place eggs, sugar, salt, and whisky in a large bowl and mix for two minutes or so (if making by hand, combine the ingredients, and stir well with a wooden spoon.)
  • Add one cup (in UK, just use a regular cup-no need to measure) of flour and mix well.
  • Add the remaining flour and mix until a slightly sticky dough forms.
  • With hands, shape dough into a ball and refrigerate, covered, for about an hour.
  • Remove from fridge and cut dough in half and roll out one piece very thinly, on floured workspace.
  • Dough will be elastic, but re-roll it if it gets too thick. Using a knife or cutter to cut into strips. Use a pasta rolling machine if you have one.
  • Cut a strip: no size is right or wrong, but about 6 or 7 inches is a good size. Make a little cut towards one end. Now place the opposite end through that slit, and pull through to make a ribbon shape. Repeat, until all of dough is used.
  • Meanwhile, heat some oil in a pot or deep fryer (I use a wok) until hot. Before dropping the pastry in the oil, pull and stretch each one, so that it is thinner (as they shrink after being shaped) then begin frying the pastries until puffed and light brown on each side.
  • Remove with strainer and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool.
  • When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar (or decorate with icing, or honey.)

Notes

It is really difficult to say how many this makes because it depends on what size and shape and thickness you make them.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 | Calories: 49kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

4.73 from 159 votes (158 ratings without comment)

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252 Comments

  1. Can you make the dough in advance and freeze it. Also, can you make the cookies, shape the bows, freeze and fried at a later date.

    1. Hi Mary, I have never done this, and so I have no idea how it would fare. I wouldn’t try shaping and freezing them. If anything, possibly freezing the dough might be the best option, but again, just not sure. Good luck, CC

  2. Just made these! Thanks for the recipe, they are just like the ones my mother in law used to make, she called them ‘crispellos’. I definitely agree with a comment made that they need to be rolled super thin – otherwise they are too puffy and don’t get crispy.

  3. I am Romanian and I grew up eating these. My grandmother used to make these quite often. We called them ‘little lies'( ‘minciunele’in Romanian). I had been to Italy several times but did not come across these until I was in Venice in 2020 . It was carnival time and they were everywhere and I instantly recognised my grandmother’s little lies . That week I was served some ‘chiacchiere’ with a glass of prosecco at a winery and I got to talk about this with the Italian owner of the restaurant and he was just surprised that my family didn’t have any Italian heritage . But for me , I guess it just confirmed my belief that there is really no such thing as ‘authenticity’ in food . Don’t get me wrong , we all want to protect our heritage and family traditions and recipes and cuisines and so on , and people get very emotional about these things , but there’s something so nice in knowing that we have all been ‘borrowing’ from one another throughout history , that there us this common thread that unites us, that we’re really not so different . Anyway, thank you so much for this recipe !

    1. Would you believe they even have a similar treat in China?! Yes, of course you are so right, however, the classic recipes from each cuisine really need to be preserved so that we have a foundation to build on. It’s so important to learn why certain things have been passed on for such a long time! :)

  4. My recipe is A little different. More eggs and no liquor. We use orange juice. I am going to try them with orange liquor. We generally dip them In heated honey if using right away. If making for weddings we sprinkle powder sugar on them. We never mix them on tray with other cookies as this makes them soft. I do freeze them without xxx sugar in layers with parchment paper between layers and seal them well. I have had no problems keeping them crisp. I make about 20 different cookies for the holidays. Most of them my grandmas recipes. I am now 83 years old and my children and grandchildren are starting to help me. Thank God!

    1. Good for you, Catherine! I am glad your grandchildren are now helping, too. It’s good for them to keep the traditions going in the family. I think you’ll like them with the liquor as it helps them to be more crispy. Let me know what you think! CC

  5. I’ve been making these since l was a little girl. I’m now 70 and make them with my granddaughter. My grandmother said if you can’t see the board their not thin enough. We call them Boozzia , they really can last for weeks if they aren’t all gobbled up. I just put them in a large pot and cover it with foil. Whisky or brandy is what l use l don’t measure the flour, the dough should be soft and not sticky.

    Lanie

  6. It is so wonderful to find that you call these Frappe. I have never found anyone else outside our family that calls them that. We use vanilla, but I may try them with the whiskey. That would make them different.

  7. I find this discussion interesting. Throughout parts of Europe, each nationality has a similar pastry cookie. There is the Polish Chrusciki, Hungarian Angels Wings and the Italian Bow Tie cookie. I have been looking for a recipe like these to see if I could recreate the pastry my Grandmother used to make during the Holidays, She came from Austria near the Hungarian border. So I now have found these 3 and will experiment to see if I can recreate her pastry. Thank You