Angel wings

Angel wingsare a traditional sweet crisp pastry made out ofdoughthat has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons,deep-friedand sprinkled with powdered sugar. Common to many European cuisines, angel wings have been incorporated into other regional cuisines (such as American cuisine) by immigrant populations. They are most commonly eaten in the period just beforeLent, often duringCarnivaland onFat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent—not to be confused with "Fat Tuesday" (Mardi Gras), the day before the start of Lent (Ash Wednesday). There is a tradition in some countries for husbands to give angel wings to their wives onFriday the 13thin order to avoid bad luck.
Ingredients used in the preparation of angel wings typically includes flour, water, egg yolk, confectioners' sugar, rectified spirit or rum, vanilla, and salt.
In the various national cuisines, angel wings are referred to as:
InBulgaria, angel wings are calledkukurini, and are only found inBansko, south-east Bulgaria. They are typically sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Kroštuleare a traditionalCroatian pastryfromDalmatiaandIstria,also popular in coastalSloveniaashroštule. It is made from deep frying dough.
In France, the fried pastry are made in central-eastern France, includingLyonandSaint-Étienne, and are closely related tobeignets. Traditionally, Lyoncold meatshops soldbugnesjust beforeLent, 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.
Frenchbugnesvarieties include crunchybugnesand softbugnes. The crunchy variety, known asbugnes lyonnaises('Lyonbugnes'), 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.
Hungariancsörögeare 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.
Italianchiacchiereare eaten atCarnivaltime. Their various regional names include:frappe(a name shared with similar treats) inRomeandLazio;sfrappoleinEmilia-Romagna;bugieinGenoaandPiedmont;cenciinTuscany; andgalaniorcrostoliinVeneto,Trentino-Alto AdigeandFriuli-Venezia Giulia.Fritteand 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 famouscastagnole.
Žagarėliaiare 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.
Skruzdėlynastranslates 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.
Faworkiandchrustyare the plural forms of the wordsfaworekandchrustrespectively.
The Polish wordfaworkiwas the name reserved for colourful ribbons attached to either female or male clothing, especially ribbons given to medieval knights by their ladies. Etymologically the wordfaworkicame to Poland from the French wordfaveur, meaning 'grace' or 'favour'.
The Polish wordchrustmeans 'dry branches broken off trees' or 'brushwood'.Chruścikis adiminutiveofchrust.
Verhunyare sweet cookies, fried in lard, which have the form of oblong strips.Verhunyare a Ukrainian confectionery with non-yeast dough, which includes flour, butter, eggs, sugar and additives such as alcohol (rum, brandy orhorilka) or, in extreme cases, vinegar (vinegar sometimes together with alcohol). As substitute for butter, but more often as an additional component inverhuny, milk products (milk,smetanai.e. sour cream, or cream) are added. Traditionally, Ukrainianverhunyshould only be fried in lard.
In the United States, many ethnic bakeries in the cities ofCleveland,Chicago,Buffalo, andDetroitmake angel wings, and they are especially popular during the holidays ofEasterandChristmas. During those holidays, some bakeries require people to pre-order their angel wings.
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