Angel wings are a traditional sweet crisp pastry made out of

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening ag ...

that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons,

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Common to many European cuisines, angel wings have been incorporated into other regional cuisines (such as

American cuisine American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, indigenous Native Americans, Africans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures a ...

) by immigrant populations. They are most commonly eaten in the period just before

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

, often during

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

and on

Fat Thursday Fat Thursday is a Christian tradition in some countries marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opport ...

, the last Thursday before

– not to be confused with "Fat Tuesday" ( Mardi Gras), the day before the start of Lent (

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

). There is a tradition in some countries for husbands to give angel wings to their wives on Friday the 13th in order to avoid bad luck.

Ingredients

Ingredients used in the preparation of angel wings typically includes flour, water, egg yolk, confectioners' sugar, rectified spirit or rum, vanilla and salt.

Alternate names

In the various national cuisines, angel wings are referred to as: * Bashkurt: ҡош теле (''kush tili'': "bird tongue") * Belarusian: хрушчы (''chruščy'') or фаворкі (''favorki'') * bg, фаворки (''favorki'') *

Chilean Spanish Chilean Spanish ( es, español chileno) is any of several varieties of the Spanish language spoken in most of Chile. Chilean Spanish dialects have distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usages that differ from those of Stand ...

: ''calzones rotos'' ("torn panties") * hr, krostole, ''kroštule'' *

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

: ''boží milosti'' *

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: '' klejner'' * french: bugnes, merveilles, oreillettes * german: Fasnachtschüechli, Raderkuchen, Mutzenblätter *

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ''diples (δίπλες)'' * hu, csöröge fánk or forgácsfánk *

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''chiacchiere'' ("chatter"), ''bugie'' ("lies"), ''cenci'' ("rags"), ''crostoli'', ''frappe'', ''galani'', ''grostoli'', ''sfrappole'', ''nocche'' * Judeo-Spanish - ''fiyuelas'', ''fazuelos'' * Latvian - ''žagariņi'', ''zaķauši'' ("rabbit ears") :* Latgalian - ''žagareni'' * Lithuanian: ''žagarėliai'' ("twigs", "sticks") * Maltese: ''xkunvat'' *

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: '' fattigmann'' ("poor man") *

Tibetan cuisine Tibetan cuisine includes the culinary traditions and practices and its peoples. The cuisine reflects the Tibetan landscape of mountains and plateaus and includes influences from neighbors (including India and Nepal where many Tibetans abide) ...

: ''Khapse'' or ''Khapsey'' *

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

: ''faworki'', ''chruściki'', ''chrusty'' *

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: ''orelha de gato'', ''cueca virada'', ''filhós'', ''coscorão'', ''cavaquinho'', ''crostoli'' *

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

: ''minciunele'', ''uscatele'', regionally: ''cirighele'' *

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: хворост (''khvorost'': twigs, sticks), sometimes called Russian twig cookies. * Russian-Canadian Doukhobor dialect: орешки (''oreshki'': nuts) * Slovak: ''fánka'', ''čeregi'' *

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

: ''flancati'' *

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

: '' pestiños'' *

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''

klenät ''Klenät'', ''kleinur'', ''klena'', ''klejne'', ''kleina'', ''kleyna'', and ''fattigmann'' are all names for Angel wings, a fried pastry common in the Nordic countries as well as the rest of Europe and the United States. In nearby countries (su ...

er'' *

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

: кош теле (''kush tili'': "bird tongue") *

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

: вергуни (''verhuny'') * Uzbek: ''qush tili'' ("bird tongue") *

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

: כרוסט

Variants

Bulgaria

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, angel wings are called ''kukurini'', and are only found in

Bansko Bansko ( bg, Банско ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 1200m above sea level. It is a ski resort. Legends There are several legends about who founded Bansko. According to o ...

, south-east Bulgaria. They are typically sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Croatia

Kroštule Kroštule is a traditional pastry from Dalmatia and Istria. It is made by deep frying dough. See also * Angel wings * List of doughnut varieties * List of pastries This is a list of pastries, which are small buns made using a stiff dough en ...

is a traditional pastry from

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

and

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

. It is made by deep frying dough.

France

In France, the fried pastry are made in central-eastern France, including

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and Saint-Étienne, and are closely related to

beignet Beignet ( , also , ; ) is a type of ''fritter'', or deep-fried pastry, usually made from yeast dough in France, possibly made from pâte à choux and called Pets-de-nonne, nun's fart, in France, but may also be made from other types of dough, i ...

s. Traditionally, Lyon cold meat shops sold ''bugnes'' just before

, due to their high fat content. They are also made in the home as a way of using surplus cooking fat, which would be wasted during Lent. More recently, bakeries make them, respecting more or less the tradition of Lent. French ''bugnes'' varieties include crunchy ''bugnes'' and soft ''bugnes''. The crunchy variety, known as ''bugnes lyonnaises'' ("Lyon ''bugnes''"), are cooked in very hot oil with the dough spread out thinly and knotted once or twice. The soft variety, sometimes known as "pillows", are made with a thicker dough, which is rarely knotted.

Hungary

Hungarian csöröge are made from egg yolk, flour, a leavening agent, sugar, salt and cognac or brandy. They are deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They are traditional at weddings.

Italy

Italian ''chiacchiere'' are eaten at

time. Their various regional names include: ''frappe'' (a name shared with similar treats) in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

; ''sfrappole'' in

Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both also ; ; egl, Emégglia-Rumâgna or ''Emîlia-Rumâgna''; rgn, Emélia-Rumâgna) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy, situated in the north of the country, comprising the historical regions ...

; ''bugie'' in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

; and ''galani'' or ''crostoli'' in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

and

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

. ''Fritte'' and many other regional names exist. Regional variations in the recipe include sprinkling with citrus zest, typically orange or lemon, or using anisette wine as the alcoholic base. It is very common in Italian families to make them at home. They often accompany the similarly famous " castagnole".

Lithuania

“Žagarėliai” are the equivalents of Angel Wings in Lithuania. Žagarėliai (or “small sticks” in English) are delicate pastry dough cookies, deep fried in fat. It is best to use lard or oil for deep frying these cookies. Skruzdėlynas translates as “anthill” in English and is layers of fried dough strips, covered in honey and topped with poppy seeds. It is a typical dessert served during Lithuanian family celebrations.

Poland

''Faworki'' and ''chrusty'' are the plural forms of the words ''faworek'' and ''chrust'' respectively. The Polish word ''faworki'' was the name reserved for colourful ribbons attached to either female or male clothing, especially ribbons given to medieval knights by their ladies. Etymologically the word ''faworki'' came to Poland from the French word ''faveur'', meaning 'grace' or 'favour'. The Polish word ''chrust'' means 'dry branches broken off trees' or 'brushwood'.chrust
Polish online dictionary (Polish). Retrieved November 25, 2009. ''Chruścik'' is a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

of ''chrust''.

Ukraine

''Verhuny'' are sweet cookies, fried in lard, which have the form of oblong strips. ''Verhuny'' are a Ukrainian confectionery with non-yeast dough, which includes flour, butter, eggs, sugar and additives such as alcohol (rum, brandy or horilka) or, in extreme cases, vinegar (vinegar sometimes together with alcohol). As substitute for butter, but more often as an additional component in ''verhuny'', milk products (milk, smetana i.e. sour cream, or cream) are added. Traditionally, Ukrainian ''verhuny'' should only be fried in lard.

United States

In the United States, many ethnic bakeries in the cities of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Buffalo, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

make angel wings, and they are especially popular during the holidays of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. During those holidays, some bakeries require people to pre-order their angel wings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angel Wings Carnival foods Catholic cuisine Cuisine of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes French pastries Hungarian desserts Italian desserts Lithuanian desserts Russian desserts Ukrainian desserts Cookies Fried dough